Break You Hard
by Cassy-Kay
Summary: Started out as just a one-shot of Jared imprinting on Kim from Kim's point of view, but is now a story. Prequel to Mirrors/2 is Better, don't need to read either to understand. Takes place in my Perfection world. Rated T for language.
1. One

**This is a one-shot from Kim's perspective of Jared imprinting on her. It has ****NOTHING**** to do with my Kim and Jared story: _Wonderland_. It will only be a one-shot, no chapters or anything, but if you want a K&J story please check out _Wonderland_. This Kim's personality is the complete opposite from my _Wonderland _Kim, the reactions are also very different. I hope you like it, another Kim and Jared story was the number one voted story in my poll and I will be starting another imprint story soon that will not be Kim and Jared. I will let you know what couple it will be in an authors note on my _Wonderland_ story within the next few chapters so check that out!**

**Lots of love and hope you enjoy! Please remember to review if you like it! xx.**

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><p>"Hey, can you tell me what the answer to number four is?" A deep, husky voice next to me asked. I froze. I knew that voice. I always begged for that voice to talk to me, in my mind of course, never out loud or anything. <em>Jared Thail.<em> Sure, he was only talking to me because he wanted the answers to the worksheet we were doing, but still, it was an improvement. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him giving me that charming smile of his_. I bet he doesn't even know my name._

I turned to look at him. He was so gorgeous. He had been out of school for the past two weeks and when he returned yesterday I had almost passed out. He had always been beautifully handsome but those two weeks off of school had done him well. All of chemistry class yesterday I had thought of things I could say to him, conversation starters, but nothing came out. Instead, I just watched him out of the corner of my eye, the whole class, while he doodled in his notebook.

Today wouldn't be any different or so I thought. I realized we were both looking at each other now. I had been staring. I immediately turned a bright red. It was one thing to admire from afar or when he didn't know, but I had been caught ogling him straight to his face._ How embarrassing._ I reached over and wrote 'OH-' as number four on his paper. I didn't trust myself to talk. I pulled back and looked down at my paper, trying hard not to look up at him. I didn't need to embarrass myself even more.

"Hey…" A soft voice whispered as a big tan hand brushed against my arm. I dropped my pen, that I had been holding, in shock. His touch was warm and sent tingles through my whole body. He pulled his hand away quickly and I turned to look at him with wide eyes. He was staring intently at me, like I had been to him moments before. I blushed again and looked down._ I can't believe he is talking to me! _If only I could gain the courage to talk to him… _Say something! _

_Say you like his new haircut! Or ask what gym he's been going too! Talk about the flipping weather! I don't care, just SAY SOMETHING! SPEAK NOW KIM! _I glanced up at him and smiled slightly. His face immediately shot into a huge grin. I bit my lip and hoped I could keep myself from saying something stupid. It was highly unlikely, but a girl can dream. I opened my mouth to speak. I wasn't sure what I was going to say but I was hoping something would come out… He spoke before I had the chance to.

"Are you new here?" My world came crashing down with those four words. My smile faded to a frown and I looked away from him. He must have seen that he had done something wrong because he immediately started apologizing. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! What's the matter? What did I do? I'm sorry!" I wanted to cry. I could have forgiven him for not knowing my name even though we have been in classes together since kindergarden. I could have forgiven him for not knowing it even though we worked on a history project together last year or had been reading buddies in first grade. But he didn't even know I existed. _Did he even know someone sat next to him up until today?_

"Shit. You're not new here, are you? I'm-I'm so sorry…" The bell rang and I got out of my seat and sprinted towards the door. I didn't want to cry in front of him. It's hard when someone you have a crush on doesn't like you back. It's even harder when the person you have a crush on doesn't even know you exist. I rushed down the hallway. _Why couldn't I be what he wanted?_

"Hey!" I heard Jared's voice call out of the mass of people. I ignored it. He wasn't talking to me. A scorching hand grabbed my arm. I jumped about a foot in the air and spun around to face the intruder. _Jared. _

"Woah, woah. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." I glanced down at my arm that he was holding. He followed my gaze and slowly let go of it. "Are you okay?" He asked, looking deeply concerned. _No. _I nodded my head before dropping my gaze to look at my shoes.

"I'm really sorry. I really am...I-I don't know what to say...God, I'm such a jerk. You must hate me. Please don't hate me. You won't even look at me...I'm so sorry…" I snapped my head up to look at him, cocking my head to the side in confusion. He looked distraught. _Why did he care?_ He sounded so upset. He gathered both of my hands in his. His hands were soft but strong and very warm. They felt wonderful around my tiny, cold hands. He stared into my eyes with so much intensity that I thought it might burn a hole straight through me.

"Please tell me your name and I will make it up to you. Anything you want." He was...pleading with me? No, that wasn't right. Guys didn't plead with me. _Jared Thail didn't plead with me. _I opened my mouth to say something but happened to glance around. We were the only two in the hallway. _Had the bell already rung? How had I missed that? _I wasn't sure if he noticed but I had to get to class. I didn't want to though, even if he didn't know my name I still had a huge crush on him. He was studying my face, waiting for me to say something. I blushed, realizing I had been silent since he first looked at me in class.

_What do I say? What do I say! My name is Kim. Thats all you have to say. Say it! My name is Kim. Out loud! GAH! _

"I've been in at least two of your classes since kindergarden and we worked on a history project together last year...though I did most of the work...I have also sat next to you this entire year in chemistry." I finally said softly._ WHY DID YOU SAY THAT? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAY MY NAME IS KIM! Me llamo Kim would have been better than that!_ I mentally slapped myself. _Why can't I ever listen to my mind? It always knows when I am going to do something stupid!_ I stopped arguing with myself long enough to concentrate back on Jared. He looked like a kicked puppy and my face softened, wondering what could have happened to make him look like this.

He dropped my hands and hung his head. My hands were instantly cold and I wanted him to hold them again. It had felt so nice. I couldn't help the frown that appeared on my face with the lack of contact.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered with such feeling that it almost knocked me off my feet. He reached up and cupped my cheek in his hand. I flinched in surprise at his warm touch. "Sorry." He muttered again, yanking his hand away and blushing slightly. _No!_ I wanted to scream. _Put your hand back! _But, of course, I said nothing.

"I-I feel horrible. You seem so nice and you're so beautiful and I'm the biggest jerk." He sighed, frustratedly. I turned even more red. _Did he just call me beautiful? _No guy had ever called me beautiful before and I didn't view myself as beautiful or even pretty. I had the typical Quileute skin tone with high cheekbones. My eyes were sorta nice looking, golden brown and a little doe like. My hair was a disaster. It was thin and black and a tad wispy. No matter what I tried with it, it always just hung straight.

I felt the overwhelming need to console Jared. I wanted to comfort him and tell him it was fine, tell him that he was adorable when he cared, and that my name is Kim. Instead I, as always, did something stupid. I reached my hand up to his face and gently stroked his cheek with my fingers. Ever since he had touched my arm in class and again when he grabbed my hands, I had wanted to touch him. I longed to feel that warm tingling feeling that was unlike anything else.

His skin was smooth, soft, and warm. His head snapped up so he could look at me. He stared at me adoringly for a couple minutes while I stroked his cheek, then I realized what I was doing. I went to snatch my hand back but Jared's hand shot up and held mine to his cheek. I had to admit, it felt good...it felt right. I just stared into his eyes while he stared into mine. He had beautiful eyes. They were green and showed so much emotion. It was different...I was feeling things I had never experienced before. I liked it though.

I snapped out of it after God knows how long and I pulled my hand away. This seemed to break him out of his gaze as well. He looked hurt that I had pulled my hand away and I'll admit I was a little sad too. I spun on my heel and started walking away from him. Each step hurt more than the one before.

"Wait!" He called, coming up behind me. _Woah, he's fast._ I hadn't gotten very far but that was still very fast. I continued walking, I didn't want to embarrass myself anymore. A warm arm wrapped around my waist, turning me around, and pushing me against the lockers, gently. "Please don't run away from me." Jared pleaded, holding me to him. We were close, I could feel his minty breath on my face and I was so warm, his body heat surrounding me. "You don't have to tell me your name, I don't deserve to know it...but tell me your favorite vegetable or flower or about your family. Please. I'm-"

I was intoxicated by him. Everything to do with him. His touch, his smell, his voice. It was overwhelming and I did the only thing I could think of to get him to shut up and stop apologizing. _I kissed him._

He was already bent down slightly since he was talking to me, but all I had to do was lean up a little and press my lips to his. I had adrenalin pumping through my veins, I might not get another chance to do this. He didn't respond at first but I didn't pull back, I had already kissed him, I was going to enjoy it. After a couple of seconds he responded, wrapping his other arm around my waist and pulling me closer to him. I slid my arms up his chest and wrapped them around his neck, twisting my hands in his hair. He moaned slightly, _had I caused that_? His warm tongue against my lips, begging for entrance, snapped me out of my daze and I pushed back quickly.

"I-_oh shit_-I'm-_Dammit!_-So-_Fuck_-Sorry!" I pushed his arms off of me and started running to the door. He chased after me. _I can't believe I did that, I have never been more embarrassed in my life._ I wanted to move to Canada so I wouldn't have to face anyone again. Jared was one of the most popular people in the school. He was hot, gorgeous, he dated the popular, pretty girls, not me. Not Kim Connweller. He caught me just before I reached the exit. I let out a yelp as his arms wrapped around me from behind in a comforting and secure hug. "I keep on screwing up, I'm sorry. I'm so nervous, I just...just tell me what to do to make everything right." He begged, turning me around in his arms and stroking my hair.

This was weird to say the least, everything was weird today. _Was this even real life?_ I bit my lip. "Why would you be nervous?" I mumbled, looking up at him through my long eyelashes. He seemed ecstatic for a minute that I spoke before answering the question.

"I want you to like me." He told me with pleading eyes. His words couldn't be described as anything other than truthful. My embarrassed and confused gaze vanished as I looked up at him._ He wanted me to like him?_ I couldn't help it, I moved subconsciously closer to him. We were like magnets, I wondered if he could feel it too. He leaned in slowly and paused an inch from my face. He hesitated. _Did that mean he didn't want to kiss me or that he didn't want me to freak out again?_ I didn't care. I closed the distance between our mouths and pressed my lips to his for the second time. This kiss was just as sweet as the last one but it had more passion. My mouth parted slightly and I reached my tongue out to brush against his lips. I knew he wouldn't have deepened the kiss because of how I had reacted last time but I wanted to, so bad. My whole body was craving him, it was practically calling for him. He opened his mouth to mine and our tongues tangled together, fighting for dominance.

Now, I'm not a very experienced kisser, I've kissed a grand total of three boys in my life, including Jared, but this was, by far, the best kiss anyone in the entire world had ever received. I would gladly challenge anyone who would like to argue this proven fact. I finally pulled back from lack of oxygen and let out a content sigh. He was grinning down at me with an expression that can only be described as happy. The bell rang and we both jumped. _Had we really spent an entire class period with each other?_

I expected him to throw me out of his arms so none of his friends would see him with me but instead he held onto me tighter. A couple people did double takes and a few were whispering. I felt my face heat up but I couldn't bring myself to care like I normally would, Jared was holding me, in his arms, my face pressed against his chest. I pulled back. I had a free last period so I was allowed to leave but I knew for a fact that Jared had a class.

He made a pouty face and tried to pull me back to him but I shook my head. I was starting to get uncomfortable with all the people around us. It wasn't just us alone in a hallway anymore. There was an entire school of gossiping Quileutes who thrived on making up stories and exaggerating what had happened. I'm sure by tomorrow the story will be that we had sex in the hallway. I sighed.

"Please don't go." He murmured, though I'm sure he knew my answer. "You have class." I whispered but he seemed to have heard it and frowned. I headed out the double doors, letting them shut behind me. I wanted to go back to him but I had done enough. Today had been a big day and I couldn't spend anymore time with him right now. I froze, remembering something, before rushing back into the building. He was still standing there, looking a tad dazed. I could see his friend Paul coming towards him with a questioning expression on his face. His head snapped to me as if he sensed I was there.

"Kim." I breathed out. He gave me a confused look, "Huh?" He asked not understanding what I was talking about. I reached out and grabbed one of his hands in mine which he seemed very happy about. He smiled down at our hands before looking back up at me, that same dopey, puppy dog smile still on his face.

"My name is Kim." I said again. I smiled slightly and gave his hand a squeeze before heading back out the doors so I could start my walk home.


	2. Friends

**I HAD TO DO IT! I HAD TO CONTINUE THIS! I received such an amazing response to this that I had to continue, plus it has been playing through my head for a while. You guys who reviewed are the reason for this so bravo to you!(:**

**The story from here on out will be in third person point of view. I don't usually write in third person but I always want to so I thought I'd give it a try! I think this story will be 10 chapters long...and lead towards where Mirrors starts. **

**NOTE:**** It _will_ reference some things from Mirrors and 2 is Better but you don't necessarily need to read them to understand….just know that some of the characters mentioned have places in my future stories.(:**

**Enjoy! And let me know what you think!**

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><p>Kim wasn't the type of girl to be surprised easily. She was more quiet than some and wasn't talked to much, but that didn't mean she wasn't paying attention. That didn't mean she didn't know what was going on in the world. She saw people get hurt, she saw them try new things, she saw them do just about <em>everything. <em>But Jared Thail talking to her surprised her. A lot. The fact that Jared Thail seeming interested in her surprised her even more. But what surprised her more than anything else, was that when she had made the embarrassing mistake of kissing him, Jared Thail had kissed back. _He had kissed her back._

But that didn't make up for the fact that he knew nothing about her...except that her name was Kim. And he only knew that because she told him. She should have been stronger, she should have held out. She should have made him find out her name on his own. But part of her was worried that if she hadn't told him what it was, that he would have never bothered to figure it out. And that fact hurt more than telling him.

You would think you would know the name of something or someone you see all the time, right? Kim observed things a lot but she wouldn't have been able to tell you that the girl who worked at the little coffee shop in Forks name was named Carrie, or that the color of eyeliner she used everyday was mocha-madness. So she decided that she couldn't blame people who saw her every single day and didn't know who she was. Right?

But now he knew who she was and, unknown to young Kimberly, he hadn't stopped thinking about her. At all. In fact, at that very moment, he was pissing off a certain hotheaded wolf who always seemed to look grumpy, no matter how hard said wolf tried to look friendly. He tried, _he really did_.

But Kim had kissed Jared. She had kissed him. And they were both on cloud nine...but it seemed they were on different cloud nines because Kim was currently in her small bedroom at her home and Jared was running through the woods as a wolf. But, nonetheless, they were both on cloud nine and there was nothing bringing them down.

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><p>"I swear to God!" Dakota Pondelik promised. The short Quileute crossed her heart in a weird fashion and nodded her head avidly, looking towards her two best friends. Natalie Khan snorted rather ungracefully and dropped the nail file she had been using to shape her nails.<p>

"Kota, _puh-lease_, they totally were not kissing. Have you seen her? She's like a...a three, maybe a four on a good day." Natalie insisted. There was no way that Kimberly Connweller made out with Jared Thail in the hallway. No way at all. But Dakota promised she had seen them. She had left math class to_ 'go to the bathroom',_ really to just wander around the halls until going back to class, but had been stopped by an unusual sight. A certain newly turned werewolf and a certain newly imprinted girl, wrapped up in each others arms and kissing.

"It's probably the drugs." Spencer Seneca pointed out. She hardly ever got a word out when Dakota and Natalie were together. It wasn't really their fault and Spencer didn't take offense to it, but both of her best friends loved attention and they loved to talk. It could only be expected that they didn't shut up, especially around others...but she loved them anyway. They were BFFs, best friends for life, and they told each other _everything. _

"Do you really think it's drugs?" Dakota whispered, her voice dropping to be dramatically low. Spencer just shrugged and continued to admire Natalie's large array of nail polishes.

"Well, how else did him and Paul get so big? I mean, you've seen them, right? They put Jake to shame. But would drugs really make him crazy enough to kiss Kim?" Natalie asked, cocking her head to the side and wondering how much of a drug you would have to take to want to kiss someone like Kimberly. The Freshmen girls were quiet for a few minutes and the only sound heard was the flipping of the pages from Dakota's _Teen Vogue, _the scratching sound Natalie's nail file made, and the slight clinking of nail polish bottles as Spencer looked through them. "Did they really kiss?" Natalie finally asked, scrunching up her nose.

"Oh my God, Nat! I _swear to God _they did!_"_

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><p>Kim couldn't sleep. She would shut her eyes and see his face. She would open her eyes and see his face. She would try to remember any part of her Chemistry class and only be able to remember Jared. <em>Jared, Jared, Jared<em>.

Taking a sick day tomorrow would probably be the best way to deal with everything that had happened. But even she knew that wouldn't really help her. She knew what was really going to happen. She was going to go to school the next day, she was going to see Jared with his friends, and he was going to ignore her...pretend she didn't exist, maybe wouldn't remember her name. Or he was going to make fun of her, he was going to tell everyone at school what had happened and how it had been a joke or a bet. But that small piece of Kim that still believed in fairytales and happily ever afters, hoped that he would see her tomorrow and rush over to her, offering to walk her to class or sit with her at lunch - she always sat alone after all. And the real Kim, the one filled with reason and knowledge, didn't have the heart to tell the dreamer Kim that she was wrong. Oh so very wrong.

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><p>Turns out, both of the Kims were wrong. When she showed up at school the next day, wearing her best jeans - ya know, just in case - and glanced around the hallway warily, neither of those things happened. A few people glanced at her curiously, including a group of Freshmen-wannabes, but Jared didn't make fun of her, and Jared didn't tell people she was a joke, and Jared didn't offer to walk her to class. In fact, Jared wasn't there at all.<p>

She scurried down the hall past Spencer, who was leaning against a locker, Dakota, whose arms were crossed, and Natalie, who stood with her hands on her hips. Kim made eye contact with Natalie and watched as the girl gave her a once over, not looking very impressed. Much to Kim's dismay, she couldn't help but drop her eyes. Natalie spun around to her locker as soon as Kim's eyes had dropped and smirked in satisfaction to herself.

And as Kimberly was walking away she heard Dakota's annoyed voice telling someone, _"Four, thirty-six, twenty-two."_

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><p>Kimberly hadn't made it three yards from the Freshmen girls before possibly the worst that could ever happen, did. Someone called her name. And not just someone and not just called. It was Paul Coho and he <em>yelled<em> her name. Actually yelled it, pushing through the students who were stupid enough to get in his way, and knocking down those who couldn't get away fast enough.

"Kim!" He repeated again. She had hoped the first time her name had been called that it had just been a mistake and that she was possibly only going crazy. But it wasn't a mistake, Paul had really called her name and was now very annoyed that his best friend's imprint wasn't stopping for him. He never chased after girls, they always chased after him, so he hoped that Kimberly Connweller realized just how damn lucky she was. "Kim." He repeated for a third time, at a more normal level, since he was closer now. He swung an arm effortlessly around her shoulders and smiled to himself, she was the perfect height for an armrest. _Lucky Jared._ He heard her heat speed up and the sudden intake of breath. She was surprised. Very, very surprised.

"P-Paul, what are you doing?" She asked, trying to squirm out of his grasp. He gave her his most charming smile.

"Walking a pretty girl to class." Paul answered nonchalantly, giving her a wink. Her entire face went red in a matter of seconds. Kim wasn't his type. Not even a little bit. She was a little plain looking and too short for his liking, but she was kinda cute. Maybe. She might not have been Paul's type but he was trying extra hard today because some wacky spirit had decided she was perfect for Jared...and because Emily might have threatened to withhold food if he had been mean.

"Ya-you can get away from me." She stated, making Paul's brow furrow. She sounded...scared. Was she really scared of him? He had been trying extra hard to look and be nice. But she looked abso-fucking-lutely terrified.

"Aw, come on, Kim. We're friends." Paul reminded her. _No, we aren't._ Kim thought, glancing up at him with still slightly red cheeks. Well, maybe they weren't. Paul decided. But, dammit, they were friends now. They were pack and that meant something to him. That meant more than Kim would ever come to realize.

"No, actually, we are not friends." Paul was surprised by her bluntness and sudden confidence, _Kim_ was surprised at her bluntness and confidence. Where had that come from? She had no idea. "Seriously, Paul, what do you want?" Kim asked, feeling as though she might as well speak while she was on a roll.

"Uh...I just…" Paul paused for a moment, wondering what he should say. "I just wanted to talk to you." That was the truth. Paul actually did want to talk to Kim, even if he pretended that he didn't like the idea of Jared imprinting...he was okay with it. He got a sister out of it, he got a pack member. And he wanted to know her and he thought maybe she would want to talk to him too...maybe they could be friends. Paul didn't have very many friends. Since he came back to school, people always stared at him and talked about him, but never to him. The sad look on Paul's face was enough to make Kim's soften considerably. It wasn't that she hated talking or socializing, she just didn't like being played...she didn't like being made fun of. And something told her both might be happening at that very moment.

"Oh." She answered lamely. "I'm not really that interesting." Kim shrugged slightly, making Paul's arm move a little. Paul was confused and a little upset. No imprint in _his pack_ should ever think so lowly of herself. Kim thought it was weird that Paul was talking to her at all.

"Course you are." He insisted, making Kim raise her eyebrows. "And you can tell me all about yourself during during Math."

"We're in English together...not Math." Kim reminded him quietly. Paul got a very confused look on his face. _Huh, maybe that was why he was failing both of them…_

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><p>Across the reservation, a wolf was dreaming about a pretty girl with big brown eyes and a blush across her pretty cheeks. He was very content and didn't realize that his alarm had been turned off by a best friend who was very curious about the pretty girl that said wolf was dreaming about. He didn't know that school had started a half hour ago and that the pretty girl was disappointed he wasn't there. And he didn't know that his best friend was currently interrogating her or that she was majorly freaked out.<p>

But most importantly, he didn't know that his mother thought he was at school. He didn't know that she was currently leading a man that wasn't his father, up the stairs, and to the bedroom. He just didn't know. But he would.

In about...two minutes and thirty-seconds.

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><p>"Pa-paul, seriously, what's going on?" Kim stammered out. She wasn't used to talking so much at one time but, much to her dismay, she found that talking with Paul came naturally. It was easy, but it shouldn't be. Because they had nothing in common and they had never talked before. But Paul found himself liking Kim, ya know, in that little sister kind of way. And he decided that maybe she'd be perfect for Jared.<p>

But Kim - like Natalie, Dakota, and Spencer - thought Paul was on drugs.

But he wasn't. Promise.

"What do you mean _what's going on_?" Paul asked. "I'm just trying to get to know you." Kim was very skeptical of him and, frankly, she had the right to be. Paul wasn't known for being the nicest, and Kim knew that. She didn't know what he wanted with her. Was this part of a joke? Was this a game? Did he actually want to be friends with her?

"Is this about what happened with Jared yesterday because-"

"What _did _happen between you and Jared yesterday?" Paul asked, becoming amused as Kim's face turned red again.

"Nothing." She insisted quickly. A little too quickly.

"Oh, you mean except that you kissed him. That wasn't nothing though, was it?" He asked. Kim's mouth dropped.

"He told you about that?" She squeaked. She knew it, she knew he was just making fun of her. Paul grinned down at her. Yeah, she was cute alright.

"Of course, but don't worry, I know he kissed back." Paul pointed out cheerfully. As if _that_ made it any better. It didn't. At all. Not even in the slightest.

"Mr. Sanford!" Kim spoke up, catching everyones attention, especially the teacher who looked confused by her talking. Graham Cook who sat in front of Kim, turned and gave her a surprise look, not even knowing someone sat behind him. "Can I switch seats?"

Mr. Sanford liked Kimberly Connweller, she always was on time, took notes, did his extra credit work, and was never out of line in class. She was usually quiet and attentive, except for today that is. She had been talking quietly the entire class with Paul Coho. Mr. Sanford had decided not to say anything because Kimberly was a great student and because...well...Paul scared him. So when she spoke up for the first time the entire year, he was bound to be a little surprised.

"Uh…" Mr. Sanford stated. "Would anyone like to switch seats with Kim?" He didn't usually let students move seats or interrupt his class, but even if he wouldn't want to admit it, he was scared that Paul might rub off on her and he would lose one of his only students that cared about what they were learning. They would be reviewing basic grammar next week and he needed _somebody _to take notes.

No one raised their hand or offered to sit next to the grumpy wolf who was glaring at anybody who dared even to consider it. This was Paul's Kimmy-Time, after all, and the unsuspecting humans subconsciously knew not to interrupt that.

"Sorry, Kim, you'll have to stay where you are." Mr. Sanford apologized quite regretfully. Looks like he'd be teaching grammar to himself next week… Kim shrunk back in her chair slightly, seeming to realize for the first time just how many people were focused on her, some looking for just the first time. She dropped her head slightly and let her long hair fall in front of it. Paul continued to glare at people, but not for trying to sit with him. He glared at them for making her feel uncomfortable. The teacher cleared his throat, calling the classes attention to him and away from the pretty girl who blushed way too easily.

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><p>Like Kim, Jared wasn't often surprised. Just one of the many things they didn't know they had in common. But he had woken up to <em>giggling<em>, something he wasn't used to hearing. He had woken up confused. He had woken up at _eight-thirty_. Jared would wonder many times from that day on if he was glad Paul had turned off his alarm or hated him for it. If he hadn't turned it off then Jared never would have walked out of his room to see his mom necking with Gregory Stanley. Mr. Stanley might have been divorced for several years but he still had a teenage daughter, Jessica, who thought his late nights at the office where just that, late nights at the office.

Turns out that they both worked at that little Bank of America in Forks and had met each other there. Joanna Thail squeaked in surprise when she saw her son behind her lover's head. She pushed the man away immediately and stumbled to find the right thing to say.

"Jared, oh, Honey. This isn't-it's not...I...we can keep this between us-I just-" Jared didn't hear anything else. He ran out of the house and phased as soon as he hit the tree line.

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><p>Paul and Kim stayed quiet for the rest of the class. Paul wondered why Jared hadn't texted him yet. Kim wondered if her cheeks would ever be the regular russet color again. Sam wondered if all the wrong things he had done and the sins he had committed would ever truly be forgiven. Emily wondered if Sam really thought she was beautiful. He told her she was, but was he lying? And Jared? Well, Jared wondered how he was going to tell his father who he looked up to so damn much that his mom was a cheater.<p>

But it was okay. Because they were pack and they would get through it. Together.

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><p>Even though Kim had continued to ignore Paul, he still followed her to her locker. Paul knew that Jared would want to know where it was...well, if Jared ever showed up to school. Paul knew that his best friend and fellow wolf <em>had <em>to be awake by now. He had been expecting an angry text or a whiny phone call from Jared once he realized Paul had turned his alarm off. But his phone had no texts or missed calls. It was...odd.

"Why aren't you with Jared?" Kim snapped, opening her locker. Paul's face lit up.

"Took you long enough to ask where he was, but I have to admit that you lasted longer than I thought. I thought you would have asked_ ages_ ago." Paul said cheerfully, relishing in watching her cheeks turn red. He continued, "For your information, I turned off Jared's alarm this morning so that he would oversleep. I needed to meet you for myself." Kim's eyes widened.

"_Why _would you want or need to meet me for yourself?" She asked. Paul shrugged, thinking his words before he spoke them, something he didn't do often.

"Because I wanted to make sure I liked you." He said slowly.

"Did I pass?" Kim asked. She wasn't sure why Paul would want to make sure he liked her or why it mattered at all, but Kim was a great student. She always passed, usually with flying colors. She studied hard but this wasn't a test she could prepare for. It was still important for her to pass though. Paul gave her that charming smile and shrugged.

"See you at lunch, Kim."

She watched as he walked away. What did _that_ mean?

And as a certain upset wolf curled up under a tree in the middle of the woods, he thought about the pretty girl with the brown eyes and wondered if it was selfish that he wanted to be with her more than anybody else right now.

* * *

><p>Kim stayed under the radar for the rest of the day, managing to get to and from classes without anyone screaming her name. She also made sure not to yell out anymore during class, she didn't need a repeat of that. But when lunch came around and Kim took her bag lunch to her usual table in the back of the lunchroom, she only half expected Paul to take the seat across from her. But, of course, he did. He plopped down onto the plastic, cafeteria chair and dropped an incredibly large tray of food. Kim glanced around, hoping Jared would suddenly appear and take one of the other empty seats, but he didn't, because he wasn't there.<p>

Jared was currently human and sitting on First Beach. He had phased back once he realized that Sam would be phasing soon. He didn't want his alpha in his head right now. He didn't even want to be in his head right now.

Paul took an obnoxiously large bite of a piece of pizza. He was worried about Jared. He didn't know where his best friend was but something was telling him it wasn't good. Jared wanted to see Kim, Paul knew that, he had heard that for six straight hours on a double patrol last night. So where was Jared?

"Why are you sitting with me?" Kim asked, slowly opening her peanut butter sandwich.

"Why do you sit alone?" He countered, starting in on his second piece of pizza. Kim shrugged.

"People think I'm weird." Kim murmured, peeling the crust off. Kim hated the crust but her step-mom would never cut it off, she refused, saying that all the protein was in the crust. It really just made it more of a hassle to peel it off at school.

"Same here." Paul grunted, stuffing more food in his mouth. They stayed quiet for a few minutes, pretending they couldn't hear the whispers around the cafeteria about the druggie and the freak. Because it was better that way, it was better to pretend they couldn't hear everyone. It was better to pretend people didn't talk about them and that it was normal they were sitting together.

It was better to pretend that life wasn't so confusing.

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><p><strong>Okay, let me know what you guys think. I'm not sure how often updates will be but this story is definitely not my top priority, FYI.<strong>


	3. These Times

**Chapter 2! Thanks so much for the reviews and feedback, I have never received as many reviews or such positive feedback this early in a story. It's amazing to think that people like reading what I have to write. Really, you guys are awesome.**

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><p><em>"And I know there's someone out there somewhere<em>

_Who has it much worse than I do._

_But I have a dream inside, a perfect life._

_I'd give anything just to work_

_It's like I'm only trying to dig my way out_

_Of all these things but I can't."_

_-These Times, Safetysuit_

* * *

><p>It's a truly terrible day.<p>

* * *

><p>"Kim." Paul spat out as the door swung open. Kim froze as she took in Paul's shirtless body and panicked expression. "You need to come with me." Kim had walked home, like usual, after school. She had only been home for about twenty minutes when the doorbell rang.<p>

"Uhh…" Kim didn't know what to say. "You have an eight pack." She blurted. Paul gave her a momentarily confused look before a smirk came onto his face. He opened his mouth, to make a snarky comment, but stopped once he realized what was really important here.

"We can discuss my sexiness later, this is important!" He insisted.

"Actually, I've got a pretty jam-packed afternoon. Ya know, homework...and Grey's Anatomy is on tonight so, yeah, I'm kinda all tied up…"

"It's Jared." Paul quickly butted in. Kim's mind told her that the fact that something was wrong with Jared didn't matter, and that she should just shut the door. But her heart was screaming at her to follow Paul. Paul watched as her entire stature went rigid. She cared about Jared, Paul could tell, she'd help him, right?

"Wha-what's wrong with him?" Kim asked quietly. Paul pulled a hand through his hair.

"I - _we_ - don't know! He's just sitting on the beach with a completely blank expression on his face. He won't talk to me or Sam, hell, not even Emily! And Emily brought cookies!" Paul explained. She could tell he was serious and that he was incredibly worried for his friend. She bounced back and forth on the balls of her feet, weighing the pros and cons. _Screw it._ "Let me grab a sweatshirt." Paul look so relieved, and that look of pure relief made her move faster to the stairs and up to her bedroom, grabbing the closest sweatshirt she saw. "I'm going out with a friend!" Kim called, as she jogged back down the stairs and towards the front door.

"What? Wait!" Carmen, her step mother, called. "You're going out?" The truly shocked expression hurt Kim a little but she did her best not to show it.

"_Yes_. I'll be back, don't worry, not too late."

"No, no! You can stay out as late as you want!" Carmen said cheerfully. Mrs. Connweller was thrilled…actually, that was an understatement, she was so goddamn excited. Kim never went out, as far as Carmen knew, her step-daughter didn't have any friends. When she had married Jeff, Kim's father, she had been so excited to have a daughter, but Kim wasn't what she expected. Kim wasn't necessarily the type of daughter that peppy Carmen, who owned fifty-six different bottles of O.P.I. nail polishes, had exactly been hoping for.

"Kim!" Paul called in an annoyed voice from the front foyer.

"Sorry, coming!" Kim pushed past Carmen and rounded the corner, shutting the door behind her. If possible, Carmen was even more excited. Kimmy was going out with a boy! It couldn't get much better. She peaked out the window and watched her step-daughter get into the truck. A grin spread across her face, it _could_ get better. Kimmy was going out with a cute, shirtless boy.

* * *

><p>"Paul. I don't know why you came and got me, he won't want to talk to me." Kimberly explained They had just pulled out of her driveway and she had realized what exactly she had done. She had just hoped in a car with a shirtless, practically-stranger, who may or may not be on drugs.<p>

"No, he'll talk to you, I know he will." Paul insisted.

"Why?"

"Because...because...aw, fuck it. Because he likes you, Kim, because he didn't shut up about you for six-mother-fucking-hours yesterday, and because he just will!" Paul growled. Kim snapped my mouth shut. Paul was lying, she knew it, he was taking her somewhere to kill or humiliate her, maybe both. She just knew it.

"Let me out of the car." She said in an even voice. Paul shot her a confused look.

"No, come on, Kim. You can get out in, like, two minutes. We're almost to the beach." Paul pleaded. First chasing after a girl then begging her, what the hell had happened to him?

"I don't want to be near you, I don't know what you are doing or what game you are trying to play, but I don't want to be apart of it." Kim choked out. Kim considered herself to be a good girl, she didn't get in trouble, she didn't bother anyone. So why did people seem to think that they could mess with her? Because they couldn't. She wouldn't take it.

"Kim!" Paul gasped. "This isn't a game! I wouldn't do that - _okay, _maybe I would. But not to you!" Kim sucked in a breath and looked out the window of Paul's black truck. She didn't trust him and she shouldn't have come with him. This was terrible, absolutely terrible. And it was a terrible day.

But we say we have a terrible day all the time. We had a fight with a friend, we woke up late, there was traffic. We say that it was an absolutely terrible day, even when nothing truly terrible happened at all.

So when Paul's truck pulled up to the beach and Kimberly could see Jared sitting out by a piece of driftwood, she felt terrible. She felt terrible because she knew deep in her heart that something was really wrong and she really wanted to be the one to fix it. Maybe Jared would like her if she fixed it. But she didn't know what exactly to do, she had never been good with comforting others...maybe that was because she had never been comforted herself. Kim jumped out of Paul's truck and before she had even stepped onto the sandy beach, Paul was pealing out of the parking lot and leaving her stranded. _Thanks a lot, Paul, thanks a lot._

Kim pattered slowly across the sand. Jared was sitting completely still, unknown to Kim, he hadn't moved a muscle in _hours_. That was until a familiar berry and fresh grass scent wafted into his nose. Aw, _Hell no_, Kim was there. He thought, annoyed at Paul. Why would he do that? Why would he send Kim to see him when he was at his worst? Why would Kim even come?

Kim wasn't sure what she should be doing at that moment. Should she say something? Should she ask him what was wrong? Should she kiss him again? _No_, no she shouldn't. Should she leave? Yeah, she should probably just start the walk home. It would take a good twenty minutes but she could do it.

But Kim was a good person, a great person even, and even though she wasn't sure what she should be doing or what was actually going on, she decided to suck it up and go talk to Jared. Incase you're wondering, she chickened out and didn't talk to him, but she did walk over to him and take a seat on the sand, only a few inches away.

Kim knew something was wrong, she could tell, and even though she thought she was doing nothing, she was doing everything to help Jared. Just her being there made him feel better. A lot better. They sat in silence for almost an hour.

"My mom cheated on my dad." Jared finally said softly. Kim had been expecting something bad but not something that bad. Not something_ that_ terrible. She gave him a worried look.

"My mom's dead." That probably wasn't the best thing she could have said, but at the same time, it was the perfect thing to say, because Jared stopped focusing on his mom and his terrible day to focus on Kim. Her mom was dead? Kim bit her lip, she never told people things about herself. Her mother had died when Kim was little, most people assumed Carmen was her real mom. They never thought that maybe the woman who wore heals to the grocery store and was only double Kim's age was actually just a step-mother. "I'm sorry...you can forget I said that." Dammit, why couldn't she ever just be quiet and shut her mouth? It had worked well for her for almost sixteen years, she should just stick to what worked. She had been screwing up ever since yesterday...ever since Jared had come back to school…

"Ya-your mom died?" Jared whispered, his eyes staring intently into hers.

"It's not a big deal, Jared. I don't really remember her much, forget I said something. I was supposed to be comforting you and..._dammit_, Paul just showed up at my house and used his shirtless-ness to get me to do what he wanted. But, Jared, I don't know what I'm supposed to do, and I...and I-" Kim didn't know what to say, she had never been good at talking or making friends or really anything to do with others but she was trying. Trying almost as hard as Paul currently was to look friendly to the girl who he was handing his gas money too. Jared opened his arms and pulled her into them, hugging her close.

"Just, please, stay with me. Don't leave me." Jared didn't care that she might not even like him that much or that he might sound kind of clingy. He just wanted the pretty imprint to be there with him because, currently, she was keeping him sane. And a sane wolf was always the best type of wolf...the pack would learn that when they met Ariana Corsini.

But Ariana was currently being yelled at and told she wasn't pretty enough to be with someone like her _amazing_ boyfriend, Alex. When Ariana would finally look in the **mirror **and realize not everything was wrong with her, she'd be better. That was a very long way away and a different story, though.

"Jared." Kim sighed, wrapping her arms around the boy who she couldn't believe was actually hugging her. Now wasn't the time for a serious conversation involving Kim asking Jared what was going on or if he was on drugs. So Kim just gave him another squeeze and Jared pressed his face into her hair, willing himself to not cry. It was a terrible, terrible day. But Jared was_ so_ glad Kim was there. So fucking glad because Kim was great, she was perfect, and she was his. "You can talk to me, I promise I won't say anything to anyone." Kim whispered. Jared didn't want to burden Kim, she was too pretty to have to deal with dead parents and a wolf's problem. He also didn't want to talk about it. Some things were better to keep locked away, even if for just a night.

"I don't want to." Jared mumbled, shaking his head and nuzzling the side of her face in the process. Kim wondered if it was bad she was thinking about kissing him when he was dealing with a big crisis. Jared sighed and pulled his face away from Kim's - no need to freak her out. Instead, he pulled her head close to his chest and cuddled her in his arms. He wasn't sure about Kim, but it made him feel great to have her close. They sat in silence for a long time. Kim was good at silence though, she could go entire day without talking, without being called on in class, without saying _'it's okay'_ when someone knocked into her in the hallway. She could be silent. But silence made people think, _really think_. They could think about the terrible things that had happened, they could think about the way things should be, and about what was really important. It got darker and darker, soon Kim could only see the gloomy looking water and Jared's outline. Of course, Jared could see everything perfectly. "Come on." He mumbled, standing up and pulling his imprint with him.

"What?" She squeaked, clinging to his arms in surprise.

"I owe you, and you must be starving, I'm taking you to dinner." Jared announced. Kim blushed, she hadn't done anything, he didn't owe her anything at all.

"Na-no, that's okay, really." She insisted, but either way, she let him pull her to the parking lot towards a truck that was newly filled with gas…funny, she hadn't heard Paul come back with the car…

"Come on, Kim, please?" Jared asked. Little did he know the affect his puppy eyes had on her, but he would find out and use that to his advantage in the future. Kim chewed on her bottom lip, she shouldn't go out with Jared. What if someone saw them? Would he ditch her the second he got a chance? But Jared was _sooo_ cute, it wasn't fair, and he looked like he really wanted to go somewhere with her.

"Okay." She sighed. He smiled happily, like someone who hadn't caught their mom cheating on their father. _Oh well,_ whatever made him happy… Jared kept an arm wrapped around his tiny imprint and pulled her the rest of the way to the truck Paul and him shared. Paul had dropped it off at some point during their hour long hug, knowing Jared all too well. He opened the door for her and grinned at her pretty blush as he helped her in the car. Running around to the other side, he got in the drivers side and started the car. Kim liked being in the truck with Jared much more than with Paul. Jared liked being with Kim more than being with Paul. _Poor Paul._ "You really don't have to take me anywhere." She whispered.

"But I...I want to...unless-unless you don't want to go anywhere with me?" Jared questioned sadly. He knew it, he just knew it! He had freaked her out and now she didn't want to be with him. Kim just turned her head away from the window and looked at him wide eyed.

"No, No! That's not it...it's just...Jared, this isn't some joke right? You're not gonna ditch me if you see someone you know? Or pretend you don't know me, right?" Kim asked, dropping her eyes as she talked, unable to look and see his reaction. Jared was pissed. He couldn't believe his imprint could think this way. Did she really think that lowly of him? He kept his teeth clenched to prevent himself from telling her that he _loved _her and that she had been the only thing that kept him going today.

_Great. _Kim thought. She couldn't even manage to keep a fake-friend around for more than a day. Everything she did was always a mistake. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't things go the way she wanted them to, why couldn't she just be happy? She wanted to be happy, preferably with Jared, but she knew that was highly unlikely. Jared pulled into Sue and Harry Clearwater's little diner and parked the truck in the first spot he saw. He put the car in park, pulled the keys out of the ignition, and was slamming the drivers door shut, walking to the passenger side, in a matter of seconds. Kim jumped in surprise and he pulled open her door, leaning as close to her as possible.

"Is that what you think?" Jared growled, his eyes narrowing slightly. Kim just stared widely at him, her heart doing double time. Jared was so close, and he was growling at her. It was _hot_. But she still didn't know what to think of the entire situation.

"Mhm." She managed to mumble out, nodding her head slowly. Jared frowned at her and shook his head before reaching over and unbuckling her seatbelt. Kim let out a shaky breath but found herself unable to look away from Jared.

"I've been dying to kiss you all afternoon and I haven't been able to get you out of my mind since yesterday." He whispered, his warm breath blowing across her face. Kim was listening intently to his words but was staring at his lips, unable to tear her gaze away. "I want to be seen with you, I don't care who knows I like you or who sees us, I basically just want to be with you wherever and whenever." Jared's words couldn't be taken as anything but honest and Kim seemed unable to hide her shock when Jared told her he liked her. Jared leaned forward, almost closing that small distance between them.

"Can I kiss you, Kim?" Kim couldn't say no to him, how could she? He was the hottest guy she had ever seen and he was asking to kiss her. No one had ever asked to kiss her. She let out a little squeak in agreement, blushing a bright red. Her pink cheeks and nervousness made Jared smile as he pressed his lips to hers for the third time since yesterday. The kiss was just as amazing as the first two. Jared's hands instinctively reached up to cradle Kim's head and Kim hesitantly placed her hands against his chest. She could feel his tense muscles relax under her touch before he pulled away from her, grinning like a fool. Jared thought kissing Kim was one of the best things ever to happen to him, you know, right up there with meeting her, and hugging her, and talking to her… Overall, Kim was great.

"Are you sure, Jared?" She asked hesitantly. She was a little out of breath, but all in all, she was so content, and she hoped Jared said yes. She _needed_ him to say yes.

"Of course." Jared sighed, kissing the top her head. She glanced up at him warily before breaking into a small smile. His face lit up at her happiness and, in response, pulled her against his chest in a tight hug. Jared pulled back and continued to smile. "Come on, I'm starved." He insisted, helping her out of the vehicle and intertwining his fingers with hers. She was still slightly flushed and, frankly, looked like she had been kissing someone, but Jared was cool with that...as long as everyone realized that she looked like that because of him.

* * *

><p>"Hi, Guys!" Seth Clearwater said cheerfully. Kim glanced away from her and Jared's intertwined hands that were resting on the table, and to the gangly freshman. She offered him a small smile before being distracted by Jared gently massaging her hand.<p>

"Hey, Seth." Jared greeted, smiling at the younger boy. Seth was one of those people that everyone knew, he was kind to people - even the rude girls who blocked his locker every morning - and was a genuinely always looking out for others. After placing drink orders, Jared focused back in on his imprint.

"Kim." He whispered, giving her hand an encouraging squeeze. "Calm down. What's wrong?" She shrugged and fingered the edge of the napkin sitting in front of her with her free hand.

"Jared, what are you doing?" She asked. Jared opened his mouth to speak but Kim continued. "Seriously, why are you talking to me and why are you out to eat with me?" Jared knew he couldn't tell her everything, it would be too soon, but he wanted to. He wanted to so bad.

"I just...I really like you."

"You didn't know my name until yesterday." She said. Kim sounded hurt and Jared knew she had a right to be.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, really, I am." Jared promised. Kim didn't want to give into him and his charming-ness and she intended on holding her ground. Well, that was at least until Jared lifted their hands and placed a small kiss on the back of her palm. She froze for a moment before melting into a puddle of goo. It wasn't fair, this would be so much easier if he wasn't so damn charming. Charming boys were the most dangerous, you know.

Seth didn't know Jared or Kim very well but he thought it was sweet Jared was taking her out on a date, she seemed like a nice person and he had heard a rumor that she really liked Jared. Not that he spread rumors or anything, he was too nice for that.

That was also the first day that Danielle Monamy started working at the diner. She was so nervous and kept stuttering over her words or forgetting simple things.

"Don't worry about it." Seth smiled at her and helped her pick up the stack of napkins she had dropped in her attempt to refill one of the containers.

"I just...I just can't do this. I suck at it!" She whined. He laughed softly.

"It's not a big deal, on my first day here in eighth grade, I dropped an entire plate of spaghetti on my sister's ex-boyfriend. I don't think he'll ever forgive me for it."

That was the day Danielle first developed her crush on Seth Clearwater. But Seth would never feel that way about her. He had a perfect girl who was currently sitting in the back of a social worker's car that was taking her to her new home in Salem, Washington. Sadly, he wouldn't get to meet her until December of the following year.

Oh, and Sam never did fully forgive Seth for giving him a spaghetti makeover, but in the future, when Leah would see the image in Sam's mind every once and a while, it would make her laugh. And it would make being stuck in his head a little less terrible than it was.

We all say we have terrible days.

But for the girl that was currently begging the red-eyed vampire for her life, hers might have been the worst. Because something like that happens and you realize that petty fights, and traffic, and being late isn't quite so terrible at all.

* * *

><p>After the most enjoyable dinner Kim had ever had at the little diner, Jared walked her back to the truck and admitted he didn't want to bring her home. Kim had quietly whispered back that she didn't want to go home. That's how they ended up at the beach again, Jared standing in the bed of the truck with his hand reached out to Kim, and Kim bitting her lip nervously, trying to decide what to do. She accepted his hand cautiously and he pulled her into the truck, sitting down and letting her fall into his lap. Kim's face heated up as she braced herself on Jared's very muscular arms. He didn't let her stand up like she expected he would. Instead, Jared held her tightly to his chest, brushing his fingers over her back. He smirked when he felt Kim shiver slightly.<p>

"My favorite vegetables are potatoes and my favorite flower is a daisy." Kim spoke up quietly. Jared stopped his finger movements for a second. "Yesterday you wanted to know what my favorite vegetable and flower were." She explained, laying her head comfortably against his chest, right above his heart.

"I like potatoes too, but I like carrots the best." He informed her, kissing the top of her head.

"J-Jared?" Kim spoke up a couple minutes later. "Will you be at school tomorrow?" She really hoped he would be, she wouldn't admit it, but she had missed him today. She had wanted to see him.

"Yup."

"Will Paul be there?" She asked.

"Probably."

"Good." Kim whispered, glad that Jared would be there. And, well, that Paul would be there too. "He was...really nice to me, today I mean." Jared glanced at her curiously, trying to picture Paul being nice to anyone other than Emily or someone in his family. "He talked to me all day and he walked me to my classes, he even sat with me at lunch." Kim found herself kind of liking Paul, as a friend of course, she didn't have many people who acted extremely friendly to her, but Paul was one of those people.

"Really? He must really like you then." Jared mused, trying not to show how excited he was that his best friend seemed to like his imprint. He couldn't picture anyone not liking Kim, she was so sweet and nice. Either way, it made him glad that two of the most important people in his life were getting along. And he knew Emily and Sam would just love her when they met her. She was just so perfect.

"Tomorrow, are you going to ignore me?" She asked softly. Kim didn't want Jared to ignore her but she wouldn't hold it against him if he did.

"Of course not." He answered. Actually, Jared intended on doing the exact opposite. He decided he was going to walk her to class, and eat with her at lunch, maybe even drive her home if she let him.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Kim sighed happily and cuddled a little closer to Jared. She should have been absolutely freezing but found that she was perfectly comfortable laying in Jared's arms and looking up at the stars. It was a perfectly clear night, something very unusual for rainy La Push.

"I love looking at the stars." Kim sighed softly, brushing her fingers lightly over Jared's biceps. When she glanced up at Jared, he was staring intently at her and smiling softly. He grinned a little wider when a light pink appeared on her cheeks. She really was beautiful, and her hair smelled like berries and almonds, the perfect combination.

They talked for hours, they talked until they fell asleep.

And about a ten-minute walk away, a mother was panicking, wondering what to do. It was _terrible_, her son hadn't answered his phone all day but she knew he hadn't told his father. Because his father walked in the door over an hour ago, smiling and telling his wife he wanted to take her up to Seattle for the weekend.

And about a twenty-minute walk away from there, a step-mother covered for her step-daughter.

"She said she didn't feel well, she's asleep." Carmen told Jeff.

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><p>It really wasn't that terrible of a day.<p>

When you looked at the big picture, it was actually okay.

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><p><em>"They will pass, they will pass.<em>

_These times are hard but they will pass."_

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><p><strong>Hope you guys liked this chapter! I still haven't decided how long this story will be...we'll see how much you like it….<strong>

**And did lah-ov the references to Nikita and Ariana? I felt so clever writing those…. O_o **

**Hugs&Kisses, Cass**


	4. Young and Beautiful

**Okay. Wrote this entire chapter. Justine (my MacBook) crashed. Lost all of said chapter. Document recovery wasn't working. I cried for a good day. I bitched and whined to gabycaldemeraz. Then I rewrote it.**

**Story of my life.**

* * *

><p><em>"While we're young and beautiful,<em>

_Kiss me like you mean it."_

_- We're Young and Beautiful, Carrie Underwood._

* * *

><p>"Jared! Shit!" Kim gasped, pushing on Jared's chest and struggling to get up. Jared was in dreamland though and didn't want to leave. He was dreaming about wolves that could fly and pretty imprints and a world where vampires drank fruit smoothies, not blood. It was a pretty good dream but Kim's alarmed voice pulled him out of it.<p>

"Wha-_oh, crap!" _Jared growled. How had he let this happen? She was going to hate him. "What time is it?" He asked as he looked around for his phone. Kim managed to find her phone before Jared and fumbled to open it.

"Just after six." Fortunately they would have enough time to get ready and be at school. "I am _so_ dead, my dad will kill me." Kim complained. But there was also a chance Carmen covered for her. She could easily see her wacky stepmom doing that for her.

"I'm so sorry, Kim. I should have paid better attention and made sure to get you home." Jared apologized, hoping Kim wouldn't hate him if he got her in trouble. She waved her hand through the air, brushing it off, and let him help her out of the back of the truck. Jared opened the passenger door for her and Kim couldn't help but think that he was such a gentleman, even when it was really early and they were in a panic. They were soon speeding off to Kim's house. "Do you want me to come with you and apologize or something?"

"No, that's okay." Kim said, shaking her head. "Theres a good chance that Carmen covered for me and I don't really want my dad hating you if…" Kim trailed off and coughed awkwardly. She was going to say _if you will be around more often_, but Kim wasn't sure if Jared really would be around and she didn't want to sound like an idiot if that wasn't the case.

"If you're sure…" Jared said slowly, wanting to make sure she was okay. He really hoped she wasn't in trouble, he didn't want Kim hating him. "I'll pick you up in forty-five minutes."

"Oh, Jared, you don't have to-"

"I'll pick you up in forty-five minutes." He repeated firmly. Kim gave a small smile and nodded her head, hoping she hadn't breathed too much of her morning breath on him. She knew she was probably a mess but she hoped Jared didn't mind

FYI, he didn't.

* * *

><p>Time to share with the class, La Push High School style.<p>

Kim was in love with Jared. She had been for almost two years. She always made sure no one knew, she observed from afar and didn't tell anyone because Jared could never like _her. _Kim was convinced Jared would never like her like that, which was why this was so confusing to her. Kim had adapted to high school, she had adapted to being alone, and she has accepted that she wasn't going to be with Jared. The main problem was, Kim wasn't sure if she wanted to settle for being alone. She didn't want to settle if there was a chance she could have more.

Natalie had a crush on Jacob. Everyone knew that. And, well, Jake had a crush on Natalie. But they didn't love each other and they never would. It was more of a flirty-friendship the two shared. The liked being around each other, they liked pushing each others buttons. But it wasn't love. Natalie loved someone else. She loved someone who was unattainable. Very,_ very_ unattainable.

Jared was an asshole. He knew that. But he loved Kim, so much. She was his life now and he couldn't get enough of her. But he was still an asshole. Kim had sat next to him all year and, looking back on it, Jared was pretty sure they had other classes together over the years. But still, he hadn't ever paid any attention to her. She was so important but he had never looked twice. He was such an asshole. But he loved her, that counted for something, right?

As a future attendant of La Push High, Ariana thought that boys were stupid. They thought they were just _so _great and _so _powerful, but they weren't, because Ari was done. She was done with being pushed around and she was done with being told what to do. She was done and there was nothing anyone could do about it. So when Alex called and told her to come over she said _no._

That was a big mistake on her part. It hurt to walk for a while after that.

_Poor girl._

* * *

><p>"What time did you get in?" Carmen asked from the doorway.<p>

"Uh...just after six." Kim admitted, trying to towel dry her hair as quickly as possible. "Look, I'm really sorry. We just lost track of time and then we fell asleep. Sorry." Carmen waved off Kim's apology and got right to the point.

"And you were with the boy you picked you up?" She asked.

"Who? Paul? No...I was with Jared." Kim pointed out as she ran her foundation brush lightly over her face. Carmen was elated, Kim had finally made friends and they just happened to be boys!

"Is he your boyfriend?" Carmen wanted to know. Normally Kim would just tell Carmen that it was none of her business and to just leave her alone, but Kim felt like she probably owed her stepmom. The least she could do was give her a little information.

"No." Kim sighed and Carmen didn't miss the wistfulness in Kim's voice. She squealed and clapped her hands. Her hairdresser was _never _going to believe this!

"Okay, this is great! We'll go shopping and get you some new clothes and get your hair done and make him like you. And, well, of course we'll get you some killer heals. You know that killer heals give confidence and boys love confidence." Carmen nodded her head and looked expectantly at her stepdaughter. There was no freaking way that Kim was going shopping with _Car-Car_, the self-proclaimed coolest stepmom on the west coast. But Kimberly just nodded her head, unsure of how to respond.

"Don't you have hair to curl or makeup to do or _something_? How about we talk about this later?" She suggested. Carmen's smile lit up her face and she nodded her head, leaving Kim to find the perfect outfit and make herself look perfect in the next twenty minutes, all on her own.

Poor girl. Someone should have told her that Jared wouldn't have cared if she showed up sweatpants and a T-shirt. Maybe that would have saved time and maybe she wouldn't have poked her eye with her liner. _Twice._ But Kim _knew_ she had to look good, great even. Kim was positive this was an important day. A very, _very_ important day. She was positive it could quite possibly be the most important and biggest one to happen in her life so far. She didn't want to screw it up by not wearing the correct thing.

After all, like Carmen always said, the outfit makes the day. But then again, Carmen probably wasn't the best person to be taking advice from…

* * *

><p>You never know the biggest day of your life is going to be your biggest. The ones you think are going to be your biggest never live up to the standards you want. It's the regular days, the ones that start out normal, those are the days that end up being the best and most important.<p>

Nikita's day wasn't going well. First days at new schools were never great. One guy had already slapped her ass and a girl had told her that her outfit was _'so totally last season' _before it was even lunch. But, sadly, that was normal.

Normal for Nikita was state provided lunches, hand-me-down clothes, and being quiet. She was used to this and just stayed quiet throughout the day, even when a couple blocked her locker. She stayed quiet because that was what normal was.

And this day was normal.

But little did she know that this was possibly the biggest day of her life. Little did she know that when she got home there would be a facebook message from a girl in La Push.

Too bad she didn't know this was such an important day, maybe she would have been better prepared.

* * *

><p>Jared met Kim halfway down the driveway. He wrapped her in his arms and spun in a circle, making her laugh. Kim couldn't help the wide smile and the giggles that came with being around Jared. He brought out a side in her that even she didn't know she had. Jared placed her back on the ground, but kept is hands around her.<p>

"In trouble?" He asked. Kim shook her head no. "Well...in that case…" Jared leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in a simple kiss. From the kitchen window, Carmen squealed again and waved frantically when Jared happened to glance her way. Jared waved back hesitantly before looking down at his imprint. Kim glanced over at the window and upon seeing Carmen, swatted at his hand.

"Don't encourage her!" She hissed, pulling on his arm. Jared laughed and let himself be pulled away towards the truck. Kim was so excited and she was smiling so happily. Not only had she gotten away with not coming home, but a gorgeous boy had picked her up for school and gave her a good morning kiss. It really didn't get much better than that.

Jared drove them to school and pulled into the parking lot. Kim's heartbeat increased as she realized this was really happening. Jared was really driving her to school and people really were going to see them together. It was nerve-racking and scary, but also important. Because, for some of these people, she'd be making a first impression. Some of the people who would be looking at her would look at her for the first time, like Jared. You never get a sixth chance to make a fifth impression.

Kim knew all of them. She could tell you there names, what classes they were in of hers, and any group work they had done with her over the years. But those people, those people who always looked at Kim like it was the first time...well, they didn't know anything about her at all.

"Kim? You okay?" Jared asked, resting his hand on her knee. It was easier to look at his hand instead of into his eyes, so that was exactly what she did. Jared had parked and walked around to her side of the car, opening her door, but Kim hadn't moved. She didn't really want to get out of the car. The school suddenly seemed more terrifying than it really was.

"I'm-I'm fine." Kim mumbled. She glanced up at him and he looked so worried. "Are you going to talk to me today?" She really wanted to know. As soon as she stepped out of the car, all eyes would be on her.

"Yes, Kim." He sighed, feeling bad that she thought he would just ditch her. Jared knew he deserved it though, he hadn't done anything to prove he should be trusted. "We're...friends now?" Jared cringed at his words and Kim willed herself not to frown at him. She didn't know about Jared, but Kimberly Connweller didn't kiss friends or fall asleep in their arms.

"Yeah, of course." Kim said. Because even though she wanted to tell Jared no, she also wanted him to like her. Last night was probably a one time thing though, she couldn't exactly blame him. Jared wanted to be way more than friends with Kim, though, and he was currently yelling at himself for suggesting friendship. Everything with Kim was so important but he seemed to keep screwing it up for some reason. Jared stepped back and let Kim jump out of the car. She quickly power-walked away from him. "Kim! Hey, wait up!" Jared called following her.

"I have to go to my locker." She said. He sighed and slipped his hand into hers. It was so natural and effortlessly. It felt perfect to Kim but he wanted to be _friends. _Naomi Ralph froze mid-conversation with Michael Lawler, staring at the pair. And Tess Namie smiled at the two of them, she had always liked Kim. Kim blushed but kept her eyes fixed forward on the entrance to the school. She had never liked being the center of attention but she wasn't about to pull her hand away. She wasn't stupid. She smirked to herself. Who would have thought? Kim Connweller and Jared Thail._That _was one for the books.

Carmen was wrong. Killer heals or a new outfit or nice hair didn't make Jared like Kim. It was her smile that had him hooked. The fact that when she smiled at him, it wasn't fake. It was real. And the most beautiful smile Jared had ever seen.

* * *

><p>This was an important day.<p>

It was an important day and Paul had to walk to school.

Whatever happened to bros before hoes? Jared had totally ditched Paul and was making him walk to school so he could pick up his _'hoe'_. Dammit, Paul was a flipping shape-shifting-protector, he deserved a ride to school in a truck he half-owned.

Stupid Jared. Stupid Kim.

So Paul walked to school because Sam had told him to phase only if he had to. Some new thing with trying to work on his temper and control.

Stupid Alpha.

Paul hoped Jared realized just how lucky he was to have him as a best friend, because Paul was being very nice not fighting Jared or his imprint. Mainly, Paul didn't want to fight Jared because he still wasn't sure what was going on. He was convinced that something was seriously wrong and he wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to help his pack mate and best friend but there was only so much a friend could do, sometimes you needed an imprint to make it better. So when Paul finally walked onto campus and saw Jared and his blushing imprint walking towards the building, hand and hand, he decided that walking to school wasn't _that _bad because Jared was smiling at Kim like she was the best thing to everwalk the earth. Jared was hurting, Paul knew it, but whatever crisis Jared was dealing with wasn't as important as Kim.

But I guess bros before hoes is only what hoe-less bros say. Jared was no longer a hoe-less bro but Paul was. Not forever though. The spirits liked this group of shape-shifters and had blessed _all _of them with imprints.

Lucky bros.

* * *

><p>It was true. Kimberly Connweller and Jared Thail were seen walking into school together. And Jared was spotted after first period at Kim's locker.<p>

Well, Naomi heard it was a joke. But Jacob had heard that they were crazy in love and had been hiding their relationship since eighth grade. Though, Natalie had been the one to tell him that so there was a good chance that information wasn't true… Spencer was maybe one of the few who saw what was really going on.

She had seen the two of them just before lunch by Jared's locker and they both looked so _happy. _That kind of happiness couldn't be faked, especially when they didn't know anyone was watching. Jared had leaned down and brushed his nose against Kim's and she had giggled before pushing him back. They seemed so happy, it was sickening. And while most of the school thought it was some big joke or the drugs that Jared was on had made him crazy - Natalie came up with _that _rumor too - Spencer knew that wasn't the case because, well, there are some things you just can't fake.

And even if some high-schoolers were immature and couldn't see the big picture, that was okay, because Kim and Jared would be happy. They would be together forever while one out of every two of Kim and Jared classmates would end up divorced, some wouldn't even get married, and one in particular would become a mistress to a politician...but that's not important. Most of them would never find the happiness that Kim and Jared would have. Danielle would though.

But the point was, Kim and Jared were _dating_. Or at least that's what people were saying.

Haven't you heard? It was the latest gossip.

* * *

><p>By lunch, Kim had gotten over the fact that this probably wasn't a joke, and if it was, Jared was committing to it very well. Paul was too, he sat next to Kim in English again and tugged on her hair playfully the entire time, asking if Jared was alright. Kimberly hadn't really known how to answer that. His issue certainly hadn't been resolved and Kim was convinced she hadn't done anything to help, but Jared was still smiling. She wondered <em>how<em> he did that. If it were her, Kim would have been bawling her eyes out in the corner of a dark room. So when Paul asked her again if Jared was alright, she just shrugged. She wasn't about to tell someone what Jared had told her in confidentiality, but she also wouldn't even know where to begin to explain what was going on with Jared.

Of course Jared and Paul sat with her at lunch, Jared next to her and Paul in the seat across from her. It would have been exciting if she wasn't so damn tired, those two and a half hours of sleep were really getting to her. She made a split second decision, leaning closer to Jared and his warmth, and resting her head against his left arm and shoulder. He grinned down at her before continuing to eat.

"What happened yesterday?" Paul asked as he watched Kim's eyes flutter shut. Jared's happy and smiley expression fell and he wrapped his arm around his imprint to remind himself that everything was gonna be okay. "I'm sorry about the alarm thing, man, I just wanted to meet her if she was gonna be around a lot… I didn't think you would be too mad, but she seems really great, Jare."

"No...it's not the alarm, I just...something else happened and I-" Jared stopped himself from continuing. He didn't really want pity from Paul right now, he just wanted to hold his imprint who had dozed off. "-I'll tell you later." Paul frowned and glanced at Kim.

"Does _she_ get to know?" Paul's tone wasn't accusing or mad, just a little hurt. Jared had known Kim for less than forty-eight hours and she got to know what was wrong before him? That didn't seem fair...but Jared would probably tell him later...unless if he was still mad about the alarm... Paul really hadn't meant for anything bad to come of it. He just wanted to get to know Kim.

"Yeah, she knows and I'll tell you tonight, just not right now." Jared explained. Paul nodded his head and took a big bite of the pizza he was holding. Jared leaned down and kissed Kim's temple, breathing in her scent. Kim smelled amazing and her scent was so calming for Jared. She kept him grounded. Kim suddenly flinched and sat up.

"Sorry, sorry! I'm awake." She insisted, stifling a yawn. Jared smiled down at her and pulled her to rest back against him.

"No worries, I shouldn't have kept you up last night…" He admitted. Kim blushed as Paul raised his eyebrows at her. Nonetheless, Jared kept his arm around Kim and played with the ends of her hair. She reached forward and picked at a little more of her sandwich. "You don't like the crust?" He asked. Kim glanced up at him.

"No, I think it's gross but _Carmen _doesn't let me cut it off." She sighed, dropping the pieces of the sandwich back onto the plastic wrap and eating a few of her cheese-nips.

"Your stepmom?" Jared asked. Paul's face scrunched in slight confusion, he hadn't known that Kim had a stepmother, sure he had seen Carmen around - _she was hot - _but he had always assumed that they were related, they both had the same color hair and eyes...but then again, so did half of La Push.

"Yeah." Kim answered, nodding. "Whatever, I didn't get in trouble at all for yesterday so I guess I can suck it up and peel off my own crust." Jared smirked at his imprint. "Though I may have to go shopping with her which is punishment enough. What about you? Did you talk to..._um_...go home this morning?" She asked quietly, stumbling over her words a little. Kim was about to say _talk to your parents _but she wasn't really sure how things were with them and if he was going to tell his dad about what he saw or even talk to his mom again. Jared swallowed and pretended that Kim hadn't stuttered.

"I snuck in, showered, then left to get you. I'll see my parents later." Kim left the conversation at that but when Paul got up to throw his trash away, she managed to sneak another kiss in, hoping it would make him feel better.

It did.

Kim kisses were the best.

Funny, she thought Jared kisses were the best...

* * *

><p>You can't prepare for the future. No matter how you think it will go, it will never turn out the way you planned. When you try to plan the big moments, they don't turn out to be that big. It's the surprises that turn out to be life changing.<p>

Jared imprinting on Kim was life changing.

The girl who thought she was going to die yesterday by the jaws of a red-eyed vampire, was actually slowly turning into one. It only took one look into her eyes for the red-eyed creature to decide this woman would be his mate. She didn't really get a choice in the matter, just like how Kim didn't really get a choice to be with Jared.

But she wanted to be with him.

Just like when the girl woke up, she would want to be with her creator.

Funny how things work out like that.

* * *

><p>"Somehow I knew you'd be over." Kim said, opening the door. Well, she hadn't known, but she had hoped. And she had been right. Jared went home to his quiet house after school, ignored the note Joanne had left on the counter, and decided Kim deserved something for being so great yesterday and that...well, he just really wanted to see her again.<p>

"Yeah, well, I made you miss Grey's Anatomy yesterday so I thought I'd make it up to you." Jared reasoned, smiling at her. Kim rolled her eyes and moved to let him in. "Is the famous Carmen here?" He asked in a teasing tone. Kim laughed and shook her head.

"God, no. I totally wouldn't have let you in if she was." Kim admitted. "She's getting her hair done today, I get the entire afternoon without her." Kim liked those afternoons, the ones where she could be alone and not have to worry about pleasing anyone. Those were always the best...but maybe she could share those afternoons with Jared? She liked Jared a whole lot…

"And that means I get the entire afternoon with you!" Jared said happily. Kim laughed and shrugged, trying to seem as laid back as possible, but _oh my freaking god, Jared Thail was standing in her kitchen and she was convinced she was going to die. _Instead, Kim gave him a small smile. "So, I brought popcorn and skittles and m&m's and sour-patch kids and junior mints. I'll put the popcorn in and you get the TV set up." Jared looked so happy and Kim wanted to do what he asked but she didn't quite get what he wanted.

"Turn the television on for what?" She wondered.

"To watch Grey's Anatomy, duh. You'll have to explain a little of it to me but it should be fun...right?" He asked, continuing to smile at her.

"You...you want to watch it with me?" Kim probed, her eyes lighting up. He nodded his head. Jared didn't even watch the show but he was making an effort for Kim and she could see that. "Okay!" Kim excitedly. She skipped to the living room and turned the television on. She adjusted the volume before flipping to my DVR mode and choosing the Grey's Anatomy that was recorded.

_Lights on or off?_ She debated. On meant friends watching a show, off meant cuddling and date-like. Jared made up her mind for her when he walked in and shut the lights off, heading towards the couch with the big bowl of popcorn. He placed the dish on the side table and Kim chewed on her lip as she slowly walked over to him, wondering where she should sit. Once again, Jared made up her mind for her by opening his arms to her. She grinned and shuffled forward before climbing into his arms. He smiled and kissed the top of her head. Kim held back a squeal and just smiled to herself.

This was the most important day of her life, she was convinced. Jared had kissed her and held her hand and walked with her to class and now, he was watching her favorite TV show with her. It didn't get better than this.

"Who is that?" Jared asked.

"Meredith Grey."

"Oh...who is she?" He asked.

"She's a doctor at Seattle Grace Hospital...but they merged with Mercy West, so now it's Seattle Grace/Mercy West Hospital. Oh, and she's married to McDreamy."

"McDreamy?"

"Doctor Derek Shepherd."

"You like doctors?" Kim glanced up at him. He looked a little nervous. Jared decided that he could go to medical school...I mean...he could probably go to medical school…

"I like _hot guys._"

* * *

><p>Things never turn out the way you think they will. What you thought was important yesterday isn't always as important as you think. When you look at the big picture, those things you thought were <em>so <em>important are really just minuscule, they are just little blips in your life. And when you look back, you sometimes wonder why certain things seemed important important at all.

Because, in actuality, this day was not important at all. Kim and Jared talked and kissed. The girl was still just laying there, quivering in pain, and turning into a monster. Ariana didn't stand up for herself. Jacob didn't phase even though Sam was sure it should have already happened. And Danielle didn't get the courage to ask Seth out. Nikita probably had the most important day out of all of them. But it wasn't the most important day for her, that day was still to come.

But at that moment, this day seemed so important to so many people.

People crack under stress, if someone had told them that those days didn't really matter, maybe they would have been more calm. Or, then again, maybe life wouldn't have been as interesting. Sometimes having butterflies in our stomachs is what reminds us of what is important.

* * *

><p><strong>Kim is starting to be more comfortable around Jared! Couple things: 1. Do you guys like the whole "theme each chapter" type of thing? (Example: Last chapter was terrible days and this chapter was important days.) 2. Proud of me for updating ALL of my stories within a week? I'm proud of myself. 3. Have a great week! You guys are awesome, srsly.<strong>


	5. It's Magic

**I know it's been a while but hope this chapter makes up for it! XX.**

* * *

><p><em>"It's hard to conceive that somebody like you could be with someone like me.<em>

_I'm happy knowin' that you are mine,_

_The grass is greener on the other side,_

_The more I think the more I wish_

_ that we could lay here for hours and just reminisce."_

_-Happy, Never Shout Never_

* * *

><p>Natalie Khan was ecstatic.<p>

She had a sister.

She had a twin. Life couldn't get any better than this, or so she thought. Sure, she was mad at her parents - but, then again, she usually was anyway. They shouldn't have kept this from her. This was important. But they didn't know, Natalie assumed that they were aware of this fact, but they had no idea and they wouldn't know until Natalie told them six months later.

Nat had always wanted a sister to share clothes, talk about boys, and go shopping with. In a way, she was getting exactly what she wanted, as usual. Sure, she had Ava, her adoptive little sister, but Ava was a brat and Natalie didn't like her. She refused to be around her or talk to her if she didn't have to. Little did she know that Ava thought the world of her big sister. Little did she know that every morning, before she went to school, Ava would sneak a look at her to see what she was wearing so she could try to mimic the outfit to the best of her eighth-grade ability. It was rather sweet, but Natalie still didn't give Ava the time of day.

Natalie was too cool for that.

_Way_ too cool.

You know what else she was too cool for?

Doing things for others.

* * *

><p>Kim decided that if Jared left her, she would die.<p>

Okay.

That was dramatic.

She wouldn't die, but she would want to. Kim was falling _way _to fast for Jared. He was just so cute and nice, how could she not? Kim had no idea what had happened during that episode of Grey's Anatomy and neither did Jared. She had been way to distracted by the boy she was leaning against and Jared just didn't understand the show at all. She still couldn't get over the fact that Jared was actually hanging out with her and actually liked her to some extent.

He had even kissed her on his way out after watching Grey's Anatomy. Of course, Kim had been fidgety and nervous, but either way, Jared had kissed her goodnight and promised he would see her the next day. Kim might have believed Jared about seeing him tomorrow, but she had been more than surprised when not just Jared, but Paul as well, had shown up at her doorstep to bring her to school.

"Uh...whatcha doing here?" She asked as she exited her house. She couldn't think of a single reason why Jared and Paul would voluntarily bring her to school, but she could think of a thousand reasons why they wouldn't want to. Either way, Jared was smiling happily at her and Paul was...well, Paul was not completely frowning. That had to count for something, right?

"Bringing you to school, of course." Jared piped up. Paul rolled his eyes and Kim couldn't help but smirk.

"You don't have to do that, I can walk."

"No." Jared shook his head back and forth. "I don't want you ever walking to school again. It rains here a lot, you know." Duh. Paul mimicked Kim's smirk and winked at her as he got out of the passenger seat to let Kim climb in to the center.

"He's a charmer, isn't he?" Paul pointed out. Kim and Jared both ignored him as she buckled her seatbelt before Jared sped off in the direction of the school. Driving to school wasn't as nerve racking as it had been the day before, but it still left butterflies in Kim's stomach. Life was so different then it had been three days ago and she was afraid she would suddenly wake up and find it had all been a dream. But as Jared pulled her out of the car and into his arms for a hug in the school parking lot, she decided that her imagination wasn't _that _good and she couldn't possibly have thought this up. So Kim just smiled up at Jared while they walked hand in hand to her locker.

Once again, Paul was left to walk alone behind them. It wasn't fair, was it? Paul was going through a tough time, his mother was convinced he was a druggie and he poofed into a fuzzy wolf for god's sake! He could use the support of his best friend, but his supposed BFF was currently pinning after a girl who Jared was convinced was way out of his league.

Well, if this was how it was going to be then Paul was just going to find a new best friend. It couldn't be that hard, right?

* * *

><p>"Did you talk to your mom?" Kim whispered, leaning in close so no one would hear. He shook his head and reached out to start playing with Kim's fingers.<p>

"I crashed at Paul's place last night." Jared admitted.

_"Jared_._" _Kim whined. "You _need _to talk to her, so you can sort this out." Kim knew this wasn't her business, but for some reason, she felt like Jared_ was_ her business.

"I know." He groaned. She sighed and shook her head slightly. Kim had no idea what she would do if she was in Jared's position. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to tell her dad. Of course her loyalties were to her father since they were blood-related, but if she found out he had cheated on Carmen, she knew she would have a difficult decision to make.

"Sometimes things happen and they seem like the worst things in the world and it seems like things will never get better, but they will and they do. Promise."

"Wanna go to the beach after school today?" He asked, effectively changing the subject and giving her a small smile. Kim laughed softly and rolled her eyes.

"Sure, Jared."

* * *

><p>"Hey, HEY, <em>hey<em>, Jacob!" Paul called, jogging up behind him. Jacob Black froze and slowly turned around. _Why _was Paul Coho talking to him? Jake glanced around him suspiciously, wondering if there was another Jacob at the school he didn't know about...but there wasn't.

"Hi?"

"Hey." Paul repeated again, suddenly unsure of what to say. Jake blinked a few times. _Oh great, _Paul thought, _We've got a slow future-alpha. _"Wanna go cliff diving?" Jake felt like he was on an episode of_ Punked_ or something. Was Paul messing with him? Because they were _not _friends and they did _not _get along. They did _not _go cliff diving together. And, well, Jake didn't go cliff diving _at all _- that was dangerous you know!

"Um, no."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm going to hang out with Embry and Quil."

"Oh."

"I'll...um...see you later?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure."

Jake walked away, glancing behind him once. That was weird. _Really weird._ Jacob wouldn't understand until later though, Paul was just trying to be nice, he was just trying to make a new friend, and maybe get to know a future-pack-mate a little. Paul knew firsthand how difficult phasing was, and having a friend helped. Jared had been there for him, but Jacob wasn't particularly close to Sam, Jared, or himself. He was going to be the next to phase - _Sam was sure of it_ - Paul was just trying to be there for him. He was just trying to make it a little less horrible. He was just trying to think of the future.

The future was a scary place though. If you think about it, there is so much we don't know and so much we may never know. So much is always going on. We sometimes forget though, the present is always the future. What is going on right now is the future, _used _to be the future.

It's crazy isn't it?

To think that five, ten, fifteen years ago; someone was looking towards this year, this day, and thinking it's the future. Truly crazy. Truly magnificent.

In a way, we are all living in the future and nothing is more magical sounding than that.

_Magic._

Do you believe in magic?

Do you believe that anything is possible?

Do you believe that some people are put into our lives for a reason?

Do you believe that some of those people are magic?

If you don't...you are missing out on something truly magical.

_Magic._

Saying it makes everything seem more wonderful.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Kim!" Naomi Ralph called as she walked down the hallway.<p>

"Oh, um, hi, Naomi." Kim said softly, wondering why Naomi would possibly talking to her. She was pretty sure that the last time Naomi had talked to her was to tell her that her drawing of a cat in second grade was ugly.

"So, you see, I was sitting in Math last period and I was thinking, we don't talk anymore. We need to catch up." Naomi trilled, throwing her arm around Kim and pulling them down the hallway. "I'll start first, I just got a new puppy, her name is Princess and she is just ah-doorable!"

Spencer Seneca witnessed Naomi make a move and also saw the look of pure panic in Kim's eyes as she was pulled away. She did nothing though, Spencer just watched everything go down from her spot, leaning against Natalie's locker. It had been a crazy day and Spencer knew that something magical and something crazy would be happening in the near future. She didn't have time to worry about Naomi Ralph's new play-toy, Kimberly Connweller.

Spencer had spent her first two periods thinking and planning. She was the smartest of her group of friends and she had planned something magical and genius for the future. She had planned something that she knew her best friends would be in on. She had come up with possibly the best idea to ever have been thought up.

She had planned...well...where would be the fun if she told you straight out?

The funny thing was, you probably already know what she planned, what she executed, what she set in motion. Spencer was definitely the smartest one of the group. She knew exactly what was going on. She was more devious than the others thought. She was a better actress than anyone would ever realize.

She changed a few lives in the decisions she made that day...for the better though. Spencer wasn't evil, she just thought that...well...she thought that **two was better** than one.

Nothing wrong with that, right?

* * *

><p>"See? Wasn't that fun? Now it's your turn. Anything interesting happen in your life lately?" Naomi probed. Kim bit her lip and looked for an escape. Embry walked down the hallway, pausing for a moment to study her, before continuing on his way.<p>

"Oh, um...I don't think so." Kim whispered.

"I'm sure that there is _something _cool that has happened recently. Any boys?" Naomi asked. Kim knew exactly what this was about. She had seen Naomi act before and she knew Naomi wanted gossip.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Kim said, a little louder. She still glanced around frantically for someone to save her from the wrath of Naomi, but instead, the girl she rolled her eyes.

"I was just wondering how long you and Jared have been together. You know, exclusively."

Naomi was such a bitch. She was trying to get Kim to either say her and Jared were together or they weren't. Kim glanced around the hallway and made eye contact with Paul as he rounded the corner. His eyebrows shot up in question but realized what the problem was as he laid eyes on Naomi.

"Oh, wait, you're not together at all. You mean nothing to-"

"Hey, Kimmy. You ready to go?" Paul butted in, having heard the end of the conversation. Kim looked absolutely crushed. He sent a glare at Naomi who looked surprised at the fact Paul was not only standing up for Kim, but glaring at her.

"Oh, hi, Paul."

"Hey." He grunted, wrapping an arm around Kim. "See you later." He pulled Kim away and down the hall, leaving a very shocked Naomi behind.

"Thanks."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

* * *

><p>"It's messed up, Man. Fucking messed up." Embry spat, throwing his warm can of soda across the yard, hitting a tree. Quil kinda wanted to applaud his accuracy, but Jacob looked at his best friend in worry. He, of course, had told Embry and Quil about his weird conversation with Paul earlier. The three of them had come to the conclusion that Paul was trying to recruit him for his weird cult or something. They had promised each other right then and there that they would never let anything like that ever come between them.<p>

_Liars._

That so called cult would come between them before it would bring them back together. The pack was magic, it could tear people apart as fast as it could put them back together. Truly magical.

Embry had been acting crazy ever since and it was really starting to weird the other two out. Neither had ever seen Embry like this. He was pacing and looked wild. He looked animal like.

"You feeling okay, Emb?" Jake asked. Quil watched the soda can that had exploded upon impact and was currently moving all crazy on the ground. Jacob didn't though. He had his eyes firmly fixed on Embry. For some reason, all Jake could feel at the moment was complete dread. Complete and utter dread because he knew something bad was going to happen and, for some reason, he felt like it was all his fault.

From the window, Billy Black watched the boys.

Well, this was certainly a problem.

He hadn't expected this.

No one had.

Or had they?

After all, one of the elders was the father...one of them knew this was a possibility. It wasn't Billy though. I mean, of course it wasn't. He was a highly respected council member. He was a father to three beautiful children. He couldn't be Embry Call's father too. Or could he be?

Embry stormed off the Black property leaving two very confused, best friends behind.

Billy thought he should probably call someone, maybe Sam.

_Nah_.

He was quite comfortable where he was and the phone was _all the way _over there. Sam should probably sort this out on his own, anyway. Overgrown teenage werewolves were not his problem, especially when it wasn't his own son.

Or was it?

Was Embry his son?

Hm.

* * *

><p>An ear piercing wolf howl sounded across the reservation.<p>

"Oh, shit. I-I gotta go, Kim." Jared said in a rush, leaning forward and pecking her lips before taking off. "I'll see you later."

"Jared?" Kim called after him. He paused and turned around.

"Talk to your parents. The longer you wait, the harder it will be."

* * *

><p>That was Friday afternoon.<p>

It was now Saturday morning and Kim still hadn't heard from Jared.

Should she be worried?

I mean, it wasn't like they were dating, but what was protocol on this anyway? When was the appropriate amount of time to call? They hadn't been on a date so it wasn't three days… They had hung out more than once so that meant less than two days, right? And, well, Jared had kissed her goodbye. That meant you could call in twelve hours, right? That was protocol, right?

Whatever.

That was what Kim told herself as she dialed Jared's number.

Straight to voicemail.

"H-hey, Jared." She mentally face-palmed herself for stuttering. "I just...um...wanted to make sure you were okay. You kinda ran off suddenly yesterday and...uh…" She wasn't really sure what else she was gonna say. "I just...hope you're alright. I'll talk to you later." She let out a breath. "Oh! By the way, it's Kim." She hung up before she could do any more damage.

Humiliating.

No wonder Jared hadn't picked up, he probably never wanted to see her again since she was _so _weird.

Actually, Jared hadn't picked up because it was currently complete and utter chaos in his brain and all around him. It seemed like he could never just enjoy a nice afternoon with his imprint, he had to deal with problems that were much bigger than him.

Sam was freaking out. Paul was freaking out. Jared was freaking out. And, well, Embry was probably the only one who deserved to be freaking out. After all, he did just find out he was a werewolf. It was chaos. Complete and utter chaos.

Maybe Kim had this whole protocol thing wrong. Maybe you were supposed to see them, not call them, and maybe it was supposed to be more like a day since you last saw them… Yeah, that sounded about right… _Right?_

**_Everybody calm down! _**Sam yelled through the pack mind.

Jeez, Samuel, why didn't you just say so? These crazy wolves could have stopped running in circles _hours_ ago.

* * *

><p>That was Saturday morning, it was now Saturday evening.<p>

"Heads, I go see Jared. Tails, I stay here."

Kim flipped the coin.

* * *

><p>"Is Jared here?" Kim asked in a small voice.<p>

Mr. Thail looked tired and run down. He looked upset and Kim knew that Jared must have done it. He must have told his dad. She wasn't quite sure what their relationship - or lack of relationship - was, but she felt like she should be there for Jared. If he needed someone to talk to or if he just wanted to sit in silence, Kim was determined to be there for him.

"Oh...um…" He glanced up towards the stairs. "He's kinda…" Mr. Thail paused and wondered who exactly this girl was. She wasn't the type of girl Jared usually brought home or dated, but she was still pretty in a different type of way and looked nice enough.

"It's okay if he doesn't wanna see anyone." Kim insisted. "I just wanted to make sure he was okay, he was upset yesterday." For some reason, John Thail was intrigued by this girl and he wondered if Jared had confided in her about what was currently going on in their family. He felt like he didn't have to worry about her gossiping about it though, she didn't look like the type.

"Oh, so _you're _the girl he was with yesterday." John was surprised by his teasing tone, shouldn't he be mourning? His wife had cheated on him and then announced part way through their argument over it that she was leaving.

"Yeah, I mean, hopefully it was just me…" Her cheeks burned up. "I'm Kim, Kim Connweller." Kim mentally face-palmed. Could she be any more awkward? Mr. Thail found her awkwardness quite charming though and stuck his hand out to shake hers. Now that he thought about it, he could have sworn he heard Paul teasing Jared about some girl named Kim a couple nights ago.

"Call me John." He introduced. She nodded her head.

"If you just want to tell Jared I stopped by, he can call me later if he-"

"You know what? Why don't you go talk to him? He's a little stubborn, but I'm guessing you already know that. Maybe he would want to see you." John stepped away from the door and let her pass.

"Maybe…"

"He's in his room. I've got some, uh, stuff to do…it was nice meeting you though, Kim." Mr. Thail shut the front door before walking into the front room and leaving Kim in the foyer.

_Okay._

Now what was she supposed to do?

Kim glanced warily up the stairs and attempted to see where Jared's room was exactly. She decided that she couldn't leave now and took a deep breath before pattering up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, the door all the way to the right was open and revealed some sort of hang out area with a computer, television, and futon. Towards the left, there was a large room that had clothes and various items strewn across it. It looked like it was Jared's parents room. A little further down the hallway revealed a bathroom on the right side and finally a closed door.

Kim stood quietly outside the door for almost an entire minute. Maybe coming to his house was completely inappropriate. Maybe she should have just left him alone. But she couldn't go back downstairs now, Mr. Thail would know, and that would be humiliating. So, instead, Kim sucked it up and knocked on the door.

No answer.

She knocked again, a little louder.

No answer.

Kim slowly pushed open the door. This was definitely Jared's room. It was just so...him. And, well, there was Jared, sprawled out on a large queen bed and staring at the ceiling. She walked slowly into the room and glanced around some more. She wanted to take it all in. She wanted to remember this incase he yelled at her and told her to leave.

"Jared?"

No answer.

"Jared? I-it's Kim."

Still no answer. She wondered if he was dead.

"Jared?" She repeated a third time. "Are you...are you dead?" The faintest movement happened as Jared moved his foot a little.

"No." Jared's voice was monotone. Kim sighed a little before quietly shutting the door and walking over to Jared's bed. Normally a queen bed would be huge, but with Jared laying across it, it seemed much smaller than normal. Kim climbed onto the bed without having time to question or second guess herself.

"Good. I mean, who else is gonna drive me to school?" She asked, scooting over and sitting cross-legged near his head. Jared's lips twitched slightly and he finally glanced up to make eye contact with his imprint. He really did feel bad, dragging her into this and his mess of a life. Kim didn't mind though, she liked being around Jared. She liked feeling important to him.

"Nice to know what I mean to you." He teased. She smirked and reached forward, twirling the short pieces of his hair in her fingers and massaging his scalp.

"Yeah…" She trailed off as Jared's eyes shut again. "Do you wanna talk about it?" Kim finally asked. He opened his eyes again to look up at her.

"Maybe later."

"I'm here if you decide you do." She reminded him. How did Jared get so lucky? Out of everyone in the world he could have been fated to be with, he was glad it was Kim. She was perfect for him. Absolutely perfect. Jared reached behind him and picked her up effortlessly, dropping her at his side and wrapping an arm around her. She squeaked in surprise before giggling and shifting to cuddle against his side.

"What's your favorite color?" He asked, lifting up one of her hands and playing with her fingers.

"I like red." Kim admitted. "What about you?"

"Green, definitely green."

"Red and green, like Christmas." She laughed softly and Jared rolled his eyes, continuing to play with her fingers.

"Jared, I think you should just be happy." Kim said after a few moments of silence.

"I am."

"No, I'm serious. I think your parents will work this out-" She started.

"_Kim._" Jared sighed, turning his head to look at her.

"No, Jared, I'm serious. I think they'll work it out, but maybe not the way you want them to. We all want to be happy so I think your parents will do what makes them happy."

That was a good point, a very good point. It's human nature to want to be happy. Everyone wants good things to happen to them, they want people to trust, people who care, they want to be...happy. From outside the door, paused and listened as Kim spoke because she was right. All John Thail wanted to do was be happy, and whether Joanne was in the picture or not was up to her. John deserved to be happy and so he was going to be.

"You think?" Jared whispered.

"Yes."

Mr. Thail knocked on the door before opening it slowly. The two were laying on Jared's bed and even though they were cuddled close, it still looked so innocent at the same time. Kim moved to pull away from Jared, embarrassed at being caught, but Jared kept her in place.

"Hey, Kids. I was thinking pizza for dinner. You guys wanna come?" John asked. Jared glanced at Kim who shrugged.

"Sure, dad. We'll be down in a sec." Jared replied. Mr. Thail walked away and Kim squirmed a little, maneuvering out of Jared's grasp. She got up and Jared followed, sitting on the edge of the bed, before reaching back out for Kim and pulling her to him my her hips. "Thanks for coming to see me."

"Oh, I only came in hopes of pizza...not to see you." She teased. He chuckled and pulled her down, pushing his lips to hers. Kim smiled into the kiss and only pulled back when Jared's tongue traced the outside of her lips. "Come on, your fathers waiting." Jared smirked and pulled on the sneakers that had been sitting next to the bed.

"Sorry I didn't call you back earlier, it was a...long...night." He explained, following her out of the room and wrapping an arm around her waist. She shrugged.

"It's okay, I get it. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm okay." He smiled, kissing her cheek.

"If you say so…"

"You guys ready to go?" John asked, walking into the foyer with his car keys in hand. They both nodded their heads.

John was happy.

He was getting pizza for dinner - Joanne hated the little pizza place in Forks. His son had never seemed so happy, even in light of everything that had happened. And things were gonna be okay.

He was sure of it.

There is something magic about that ability to be happy even in times of pain.

* * *

><p><strong>This is honestly the story I am most proud of and work the hardest on but it is my least popular story.): Remember to review! Out of curiosity, who is reading this is didn't read Mirrors and isn't reading 2 is Better?<strong>

**Have a great week! XX.**


	6. Time

**It's been a long time and I apologize for that, I am hoping to get back into writing and update everything but this was already halfway written so I was able to get it out first. I hope you guys are still around and please remember to review, it really means a lot!**

* * *

><p>The average person spends about three years of their life waiting.<p>

Waiting in line for coffee, waiting for a phone call, waiting for the light to turn green. Just waiting. Three years is a long time. It's longer than the term for a United States senator, longer than most Hollywood-Marriages, even longer than some people ever live.

The average life expectancy age in the world is sixty-seven, that means that the average person waits sixteen seconds a day.

When Kim looked at it, she had spent eleven minutes waiting for Jared outside of school, that was more than most people waited in an entire week. How long was she supposed to wait?

She wondered if average people every really got what they were waiting for. Was waiting in lines and letting time slip away really worth it? When people looked back on the times they waited did they wish they had spent it differently?

Waiting for things made her impatient. She didn't like sitting in the front lobby of the school and looking like an idiot whose ride had ditched her, but sadly, that was what she was doing. She was waiting for a boy that she wasn't sure was even going to show up.

Kim had promised Jared she wouldn't walk home again and she wasn't one to break her promises. Jared had freaked when he found out Kim had been walking to and from school alone, in the rain, everyday and made her promise that she would go with him or Paul from now on. She wasn't really in any position to argue so she had shrugged and agreed halfheartedly. But Jared wasn't exactly there at the moment. He had been with her in the morning then had to suddenly leave. He had muttered a suspicious excuse, promised to be back to pick her up, then bolted.

Kim wanted to go home but she decided to wait a few more minutes for Jared. He had promised after all. And walking home was really no fun. Jared had been driving her the past few days which made her realize that she never wanted to walk anywhere again.

"Kim!" Paul called, jogging into the lobby. Even though Paul wasn't exactly the person Kim wanted to see, she was glad that at least someone hadn't forgotten about her. "_Thank God_ you're still here."

"Do you _ever_ wear a shirt?" She shot back, standing up from her seat on the bench and picking up her books. Paul quickly took them from her and smirked.

"Why, see something you like?" He winked. "Cuz if you get bored with Jared, I'll be happy to keep you company." Kim flushed and wondered just how much Jared had told him about their relationship...or lack of relationship. She reached to grab her books but Paul held them out of her reach and started towards his truck.

"_Shut up_, Paul!" She snapped. "And give me my stuff back, I can carry them myself."

"But, Kimmy, I'm only trying to be polite." Paul insisted. "Isn't this what Jared does? Carry your books and shit?"

"_No-_" She sighed, getting frustrated with Paul. "-Well, _okay_, maybe." Paul laughed. "And don't call me Kimmy!"

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "Just get in the truck."

"No." Kim crossed her arms stubbornly. "I can walk, thank you."

"Yeah, I bet you can, Kim, but I'm not in the mood to get sucker-punched by lover boy." Paul admitted, gesturing to the truck again, as if willing her to get in.

"_Jared_ wouldn't-"

"-Yes,_ he_ would."

"Fine."

_"Fine."_

Kim let out a huff and sashayed over to the passenger side before climbing in. At least she hadn't been abandoned, that would have been horrible. And, though she hated to admit it, there was worse things in the world than riding in the car with Paul 'I-guess-sometimes-I'm-kinda-nice' Coho.

"We're gonna go to Sam's, 'kay?" He grumbled, starting the truck and pulling out of the parking space.

"Huh?" She questioned. "No,_ I'm_ going home."

"Well, _I'm_ driving."

"Well, _I'm_ telling Jared."

"Well, Jared's not here." Paul rolled his eyes and shot her a sideways glance. Her arms were crossed and she had a pout across her face. "Besides, I'm starving and Em will be cooking. Plus, since Jared and Sam aren't there, I'll get first pick of _everything_."

Kim sighed and ignored him as he drove farther away from the school and closer to Sam's house. She didn't really want to meet Jared's friends - who she knew were important - without having some time to prepare but it seemed, whether she liked it or not, she was going to have to make small talk with them.

"Where is Jared, anyway?" She finally asked.

"Um." Paul started. It was probably best to tell the truth. "He's with Embry." Kim's eyebrows rose. Embry was a boy in the grade below her and she had never seen Jared hang out with or even talk to him. "Sam just hired him...Jare's showing him the ropes, ya know?" Paul hoped his answer was acceptable.

"Oh."

"Yeah…" He trailed off as he pulled onto a side street. "And don't stare at Emily's face, it pisses Sam-"

"Paul, I know Emily...I've seen her since the accident. And I'm not a jerk." Kim mumbled, looking out the window. _Everyone_ knew Emily. She was the girl who had taken her cousin's boyfriend and then got mauled by a bear. Talk about karma. But, as far as Kim knew, she was a nice person. Kim had met the girl when she first came to La Push, before she had a boyfriend, and before she was mauled by a bear. Kim had thought she was very nice and one of those people who was always smiling. The few times Kim had seen her since the accident, she still had a smile - or at least _half_ a smile - on her face.

"Oh...right…" Paul said awkwardly, taking another turn. "I don't think you're a jerk...I just...I dunno…"

"It's okay, Paul." Kim sighed. "I'll be on my best behavior."

Paul snorted and pulled into the driveway of Sam and Emily's little cottage. Kim had never actually been to their house and was curious. After the bear incident, Emily and Sam stayed out of the public eye as much as possible so, she guessed, this was where they spent most of their time.

She found herself feeling nervous even though she didn't really have a reason to be. _Well, _she decided, she could just sit in the car the whole time. Apparently Paul knew she was thinking something along those lines because he unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled her out of the car, keeping a tight grip on her hand. Kim's smile faded. _Dammit._

"Let me go!" She insisted, trying and failing, to pull out of his strong grip. Paul just walked forward, practically dragging Kim behind him, towards Emily and Sam's house. He ignored her and, instead, opened the front door.

"Emily? I brought you a surprise in exchange for food!" He called.

_Surprise?_ Kim thought, still stumbling behind him._ He better not mean me! _

They ended up in the kitchen and Emily turned away from a large mixing bowl, a smile lighting up half of her face. Kim couldn't help but offer a small smile back.

"Kim!" Emily greeted. "Hey! How are you?" She wiped her hands on the front of her jeans before moving forward to hug the younger girl. Kim finally broke out of Paul grasp and managed to hug her back.

"I'm well...how are you?" She responded shyly.

"Good, good." Emily smiled, studying the newest imprint. She didn't know Kim Connweller well but she had heard enough from the boys to know she was a sweet girl and - _according to Jared _- absolutely perfect. Emily's observing only lasted a few seconds before she turned into mother-imprint. "Have a seat, anywhere you want. Are you hungry? Thirsty? Is there anything I can get you?"

Kim was stunned momentarily but Paul had no problem voicing his opinions.

"Actually, I'm fucking starving. Could I get some-"

"I wasn't asking you, _Paul_."

"Aw, but Em, I love you and I'm starving. I've been at school and I have to work soon and-"

"But Kim is our guest, she-"

"Emily! I'm good. Make Paul something so he can quit acting like such a baby." Kim insisted, rolling her eyes. Emily paused, waiting for Paul to erupt and yell at Jared's imprint for calling him a baby. Instead, she was pleasantly surprised as Paul just chuckled, smiling wide at the girl.

"See, I knew I liked you." He winked, pulling on the end of her ponytail. She swatted his hand away and moved further into the kitchen to sit at one of the stools at the island counter. "Damn, I think I'm dying of hunger." Paul groaned, following Kim and taking a seat next to her. Emily rolled her eyes and set to work, making one of her famous, gourmet grilled cheeses.

"Are you sure you don't want anything, Kim?" Emily asked, putting the rather large pieces of bread in the pan on the stove.

"Nah, I'm fine, I had lunch only a few hours ago." She insisted. "Some people can go without eating every five minutes, right _Paul_?"

"Yeah, but not your_ boyfriend._" He shot back, smiling smugly to himself as her face turned a bright red color.

"Oh! He's not my-"

But her explanation was lost as Emily, completely unfazed by the news had moved on to a different topic.

"Where are Jared and Sam anyway?" She asked, flipping the sandwich.

"They're with Embry, ya know, he's freaking out and acting like a little bitch."

"Paul!"

"What? It's true!"

"You will _not_ use that language in my house!" Emily insisted, pausing in the sandwich making.

"Sorry." Paul muttered, ducking his head. "Don't tell Sam."

"Why's Embry freaking out?" Kim piped up. Emily jumped in surprise, having forgotten that there was someone in the room that didn't know wolf secret. Paul flinched too but recovered quicker than Emily and let an easy smile spread over his face.

"He's just not understanding having such a big responsibility that came along with his new job." He explained. "Don't worry 'bout Emb, it will pass, your boyfriend was the same way."

"Hey! He's not my-"

"Thanks for the sandwich, Emily." Paul said, interrupting Kim once again. She glared in response but he was too engrossed in his snack to even notice Kim's murderous look.

"No problem, Honey." Emily insisted. "So do you know when-"

"Hey!" The back door opened and Jared came sauntering inside while pulling on a tee-shirt. His eyes lit up as he spied Kim and immediately made a beeline for her, ignoring the hunger he had been so focused on moments before. While Kim tried her best to seem casual and nonchalant that Jared was finally back, she couldn't help but perk up and smile widely at him.

"Hey, Kimmy." Jared smiled back wrapping his arms around her from behind and kissing the top of her head. Emily had to hold back the 'aww' that was practically oozing out of her and tried not to focus on the blush that covered Kim's cheeks. "Is that your famous grilled cheese I smell? Can I pretty please with sprinkles on top have one?"

"I guess," Emily sighed, pretending it was such a burden but - in reality - she loved how the boys looked up to her, how she got to cook for them, and how appreciative they were of her. It was about damn time someone appreciated her. Who knew all she had to do was move to La Push, steal her cousin's boyfriend, get _attacked _by a _bear_, and make as much food as the shapeshifters of La Push wanted to make it happen?

"Whatcha doing here?" Jared whispered in Kim's ear before pulling back so he could see her face.

"Paul kinda dragged me here, he's rather annoying you know." She smirked, snuggling into Jared's embrace a little more.

"Hey!" Paul complained over a mouthful gooey cheese. Kim scrunched up her nose in disgust and Jared laughed.

"You got _that_ right," Jared agreed, "Did you know that one time-"

"Shut _up_, Jared!" Paul whined, and Kim had a feeling that he would have punched Jared if her lovely _not_-boyfriend hadn't been using her as a human shield.

"Paul, Jared! Stop. **_Not in the house_**." A voice boomed from behind them. Half of Emily's face lit up and Kim knew immediately who it was.

"Sorry, Sam." Both boys muttered, Jared's apology a little more cheerful than Paul's since he had his arms around his imprint. Sam ignored all three of them and headed straight to Emily, dropping a kiss to her marred cheek and immediately asking what he could do to help her in the kitchen.

"Just sit down, I'll have a sandwich done for you soon." She insisted. He bobbed his head happily before turning to Kim.

"I'm Sam, nice to meet you." He stuck his hand out and offered a smile to the second newest member of the pack - the newest being Embry.

"Kim." She introduced quietly, taking his hand. Sam smiled a little wider._ As if he didn't already know_. Everything to do with Kim had been on a constant loop in Jared's mind over the last week since he had imprinted, not that Sam could blame him. He knew what it was like to be imprinted, especially newly imprinted. After letting go of Kim's hand, he turned to Paul and raised his eyebrows. Paul shoved the last piece of his sandwich in his mouth before getting up and heading towards the back door for his shift with Embry.

"Bye, Kimmy!" Paul called tauntingly, "We'll hang out again real soon!"

Kim stuck his tongue out at him and Jared pecked Kim on the head one more time before unwrapping his arms from around her and stealing the now abandoned seat to her right. He slid his freshly made grilled cheese towards himself and took a big bite.

"So Kim," Emily started, shooing Sam to the third counter seat, "Do you have any classes with the boys?"

"Um...I have chemistry and history with Jared. And English with Paul." She explained.

"What about Embry?"

"Oh, um, Embry Call? We're in Spanish together." Kim informed her, wondering when Embry had become part of 'the boys'.

"That's wonderful." She chirped flipping Sam's grilled cheese over in the pan.

"Let's," Jared swallowed the rest of his sandwich, "go back to my house. 'Kay?"

Kim nodded her head and let him lace his fingers with hers. Not even a minute later, he had announced they were leaving, that he would see them later, that _Kim_ would see them later, and that Emily made the best grilled cheeses ever.

* * *

><p>The thing with time is that, for the most part, it never quite works in our favor. While waiting for something exciting or for the bell to ring at the end of a school day, time moves so excruciatingly slow that it can be hard to handle but when you are having fun or don't want something to end, time moves so fast it's hard to understand.<p>

Time is what makes us human.

If we didn't always have somewhere to be, something to do, someone to please, we wouldn't be human.

We'd be all animal.

Or vampire.

One of the most overlooked differences between humans and vampires is how they react to time. A vampire could sit for eternity in one place and never move, blink, have anywhere to be, or keep track of _time._

The fact that humans are constantly checking their watches, their phones, the clocks in any room means that they have places to be, things to do, and people who will notice if they weren't there.

Waiting can be one of the hardest things you have to do. It can seem like the worst part of life at times, but some things are worth waiting for.

* * *

><p>Kim and Jared sat across from each other on Jared's bed later that evening. Jared was sitting casually, with his palms held out in front of him, looking like he had no worries in the world. Kim on the other hand was tense, with her palms hovering over his, and her eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. Jared made his hands twitch causing her to yank hers away.<p>

"Darn it!" Kim sighed, moving her hands back to rest just above his. "Why do you keep on doing that?"

Jared laughed, "I'm not doing anything."

"Yes, you are!" She exclaimed pulling her hands back as he moved his slightly. "Why are you so good at this game?"

"I have quick reflexes." He smiled, flipping his hands over and tapping the back of hers. Kim made an annoyed sound but placed her hands underneath his, trying to will herself to catch him this time. They had being playing this game for over an hour and while Jared had gotten bored five minutes in, Kim had become determined. Jared was completely content just sitting and staring at his imprint; his bed was rather comfortable and she was rather cute. He didn't even have to try to beat her, it was too easy. Twenty minutes into their game, he had finally given in and let her win but that only made her more mad.

"Stop!" Kim complained as he let her hit the back of his hands for the fifth time that night. "You can't _let_ me win, that defeats the purpose!"

"I'm not letting you win." Jared lied, sending her a toothy grin but pulling his hands away before she could hit them again. It really wasn't Kim's fault and it wasn't Jared's fault either. It wasn't her fault that Jared was supernatural and had reflexes better than the average human. And it wasn't Jared's fault that he had those, he couldn't help how easy it was to beat Kim at this game.

Jared was so focused on Kim he didn't hear his father walking down the hall. As someone who wasn't used to being snuck up on, Jared flinched in surprise as he opened the door, almost falling off the bed.

"Hey, Jared, what-"

"Yay! I won!" Kim cried, slapping the back of his hands in the moment of weakness Jared had from turning to face his father. She clapped her hands together, beaming at him.

"Dad!" Jared complained, shooting a mock annoyed look in his direction. Kim clapped again, happy to have finally beat him...even if he had won about one-hundred other times that day.

"Um…" John Thail stuttered, unsure of what he had interrupted and what exactly he had caused Kim to win. "I was just wondering which tie I should wear." He held up a sold red tie and a blue one with swirly designs on it. "I have my monthly company dinner and I just...wasn't sure." What he didn't say was that his wife had always told him which tie to wear.

"Uh…" Jared bit his lip unsure what the big deal about the two different designs was.

"Red." Kim chirped, nodding her head towards the tie on the left.

"Thanks, Kim, you're the best." John smiled, "Not too late, Jared. You guys have school tomorrow."

"Yup." Jared nodded his head affirmatively and held his hands out so he and Kim could resume their game. She just swatted his hands away and shook her head.

"I beat you, I'm done."

Jared rolled his eyes as his father left, tying the tie as he went. "Food?" He suggested. Kim nodded happily and followed him off the bed and out of the room. "Bye, Dad!" He called as his father walked out the front door. John sent them both a wave and left them alone so he could go to his meeting.

"Can we have pasta?" Kim asked, jumping from the second to last step onto the ground floor.

"Of course," Jared agreed, "Just because you're the winner."

Kim giggled, "You beat me literally five-hundred and thirty-two times...I don't think that means I won." She snuggled into his side, letting him wrap an arm around her.

"Sure it does." He promised, giving her one more squeeze before letting go and heading towards the basement stairs. "Be right back."

* * *

><p>Joanne Thail had made a mistake.<p>

And she knew that.

She knew she had messed up. She knew she had cheated. She knew she should be sorry.

And she was.

She was sorry she got caught.

But she was going to make it right or at least try.

Her boyfriend, Gregory, had been kind enough to let her move in with him for the time being but she knew she couldn't stay there forever. His teenage daughter, Jessica, was not very please about her extended stay and had made it very clear that she did not want Joanne apart of her life. Joanne had found an apartment close to the bank in Forks and would be moving in next week, she just needed to get the rest of her stuff from the house and talk to Jared. Jared had purposefully ignored her calls and texts since 'the incident' and didn't seem like he would be contacting her anytime soon.

Joanne had learned that timing was very important. In her life she had come to realize that time really was what shaped events. If one thing happened a moment earlier or a moment later, then an entire event could be altered. If Gregory and her had gone straight to the bedroom instead of fooling around on the stairs then maybe things would have been differently, if she had gotten stopped at a red light and gotten home a little later then maybe Jared would have been up, if she had paused for just a few more moments to talk to someone at the office that morning then maybe her future would be changed completely.

Because of this, Joanne had made a very calculated decision in choosing when to visit the house. She had only been during the day when she knew John wouldn't be home, she didn't want to risk running into him and having another repeat argument. But, because the timing was just right, she knew that - since it was the third Wednesday of the month - her soon to be ex-husband would be at his monthly business dinner. She also knew Jared would be home.

Joanne made her way up the front steps and slid her house key into the slot. She knew she could convince her son to forgive her, she knew she could persuade him to move in with her. She opened the door, walked in the house and kicked it shut behind her before heading down the hall towards the kitchen.

She stopped in her tracks.

"Who are_ you_?"

Kim spun around wide eyed from the fridge where she had been getting soda for her and Jared to have with their dinner. She knew who the lady standing in front of her with her perfectly colored in eyebrows and her power business suit was, she just didn't know what to say or what to do.

"Uh…"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jared asked, seeming to appear out of nowhere, stepping in front of Kim to face his mother. He had only been in the basement for a minute getting pasta out of the pantry closet and this is what had happened. _What was she doing here? Why was she insistent of repeatedly ruining his life?_

"Jared." Joanne scolded, surprised by her son's language. "That is no way to talk to your mother! Why don't you give those pasta boxes to me and I can make you and your _friend_ some dinner...we can sit and catch up?" She said _friend _like one might say dog and that didn't go unnoticed by Jared or Kim. Kim hung her head slightly but Jared just tensed, clenching his jaw and glaring his mother.

"This is _Kim_." Jared clarified, pulling Kim to his side and wrapping an arm around her, seeming to dare his mother to say anything negative.

"Hello, Kim." Joanne chirped realizing kindness would get her a lot farther with Jared. "I'm Jared's mother, Joanne. It's so nice to meet you."

Kim bit her lip and nodded her head a few times, "Nice to meet you too." She said quietly, suddenly feeling shyer then ever.

Over the past week, Kim had gradually grown more comfortable around Jared and Paul. She had started becoming more open, louder, and sometimes it was hard to tell she was the shy girl that - just last week - didn't talk to anyone.

Joanne forced her smile not to fade as she glanced around the kitchen and realized that life was moving on without her. She had thought for sure that without her here John and Jared would have crumbled. She thought they wouldn't know how to feed themselves and wouldn't do the dishes...she thought everything would have fallen apart without her there to keep it together. She was wrong though. The kitchen was cleaner then ever and Jared didn't look like he was crumbling and needed his mother to pick up the pieces.

"So," She said cheerfully, "you're father just left you home alone with a girl?" She hadn't meant for it to come out as sharp as it did but she kept her crest-strip-whitened smile on her face in hopes that it would make it seem like a joke.

"He trusts me." Jared practically growled, tightening his arm around Kim. Kim shifted uncomfortably but kept her eyes downcast, not sure if she could look Jared's mother in the eye.

"How about that pasta?" Joanne tried again, extending her hand towards the boxes that were part way crushed by Jared's strong grip.

"No." Jared's jaw clenched again as he spat the word out. "You left us. You left _me_ so you don't get to show up when you want to and play mom. That's not how it works. Get whatever you need here and go back to wherever you're living, I don't want you to ruin anything else in my life."

Joanne had the nerve to look hurt and Jared got to witness as her face slowly crumbled.

"Jared, I told you I'm sorry. I really am. I want you to come live with me in Forks." Joanne stated calmly. Kim's head shot up and she stared wide eyed. _No, Jared couldn't leave._ "I've already found a place and you know how nice to new high school is. I want-"

"We're leaving." Jared interrupted, throwing the pasta boxes onto the counter and grabbing the keys he had abandoned there a few hours earlier. He threaded his fingers through Kim's and pulled her out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

"Jared, wait-" Joanne started.

Jared slammed the door, effectively drowning out the rest of her sentence.

* * *

><p>Time is important to everyone...even vampires.<p>

While vampires don't _have _to worry about time, they often like to. They like to keep track of days, they like to have things to do, and they like to be around others.

This is why the mysterious vampire had bitten the young girl. He didn't want to be alone anymore, he wanted someone to share his time with.

"Now I know you're scared." The vampire cooed softly, "but I'm going to help you. Okay?"

The newly turned vampire shrunk away from him in fear.

"My throat." She moaned, reaching her hands up to cradle her neck. Her entire body was aching for blood.

"Ah, yes." The vampire nodded his head. "I can fix that."

She looked up at him hopefully.

"What's your name, darling?"

"My...my name is Bree. Bree Tanner."

* * *

><p>"Jared…" Kim soothed a little while later while they sat at the beach. She had finally calmed him down enough at his house and gotten him to stop shaking but had suggested a walk to the beach would be better then driving. She weaved one of her hands through his and tried again to get him to speak to her. "I'm sorry, I-"<p>

"It's not your fault!" He snapped, causing her to flinch away. He sighed and pulled his imprint closer. He softened his voice and sent her an apologetic look, "I'm sorry...I just don't understand why she had to come back like that. She...she cheated on my dad and then expects me to take her side? Who does something like that?"

"So you're not going to go live with her in Forks and go to Forks High School?" Kim asked softly, glancing nervously at him. Jared's head shot up to look at her wide eyed expression.

"What? No, no." He pulled Kim even closer and kissed the top of her head. "Not unless you decide to move to Forks."

* * *

><p><strong>I know it has been a long time and some of you may need to re-readlook over the story to remember what was happening so I apologize. I will be working on my other stories and try to get something out for you guys as soon as possible. Thank you everyone for your continued support; not a day went by where I didn't receive a PM, review, alert, or favorite on one of my stories from you guys. XOXO**

**(P.S. Little spoiler/thing to look forward to for all you loyal humans out there: Joanne Thail was having an affair with Gregory Stanley...Jessica Stanley's father. Some of you may have guessed this since I mentioned his last name in the second chapter. I will be bringing her into the story and she will be very fun...I've written a few scenes involving her and I think you guys will enjoy her!)**


	7. Limits

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed/read the last chapter! It means so much to me that you guys are still here and want to read what I have to write. Only three more chapters for this story so hopefully those will be finished soon! I really am working to get this done for you guys and then I can move on to the mess that is my other stories...**

* * *

><p>Jessica Stanley had this<em> thing<em>. This thing where she always looked her best. She had been living on a divorced parents allowance (aka receiving two very _large_ allowances) for almost four years and, because of this, she had a wide range of clothes to wear. Her clothes always matched perfectly and she was always wearing something like Steve Madden ballet flats that were the same shade green as her Jcrew sweater or a Lacoste headband the same color purple as her Juicy Couture wristlet. It was her thing and, because of this, she always looked perfectly put together. Her long brown hair always fell shiny down her back and her eyeliner was always smudged just enough. She had been living a dream...up until a few weeks ago.

"So, like, just so you know, if my daddy marries your mom then you guys _aren't_ going to be getting all of our money or anything like that. There _will_ be a prenup." Jessica informed Jared, crossing her arms over her chest. "And there will be a _no exception _clause...even if he dies or whatever." She shifted and placed her hands on her hips. "And I _won't_ be participating in any_ sibling bonding_ activities or whatever. I've been an only child for all seventeen years of my life and I won't stop being one now just because you're in the picture. 'Kay?"

"Um...I've always been in the picture," Jared frowned. "Just not in yours...I didn't just appear out of nowhere. Also, I don't care about your money or sibling bonding activities or anything else that has to do with you. I don't even want to be here or wearing this stupid shirt." He tugged at the collar of his button up shirt. "_'Kay?_"

"_Sure_." Jessica sneered, rolling her eyes and resuming her position of crossing her arms.

It had been a week since the incident with his mother at the house and he was still not over it. So when she had called and invited him to coffee, he had wanted to kindly tell her to go to hell. Unfortunately that was not what ended up happening.

It was Kim's fault.

He may have intended to spend the rest of his life with her but he wished he hadn't let her talk him into this. Kim had gone on and on about how Jared shouldn't just completely ignore his mother and that he should still keep her in his life. When he had balked at her suggestion she had pulled the dead mother card and said she wished she could still spend time with her real mother. This, of course, had caused Jared to apologize profusely and beg for forgiveness. Kim had waved off his apology but asked him to go see his mother and meet her boyfriend and his daughter, Jessica. She insisted that he would regret it in the future if he completely cut ties with his mom. And so, Jared being the lovestruck shmuck he was, said he would go to make her happy.

Now he was regretting that promise.

"I'm serious." Jessica continued still glaring. "There will be a prenup. That means no money for you. Might as well tell your mom to find a new boyfriend." Jared just rolled his eyes but decided to ignore her. "I know these things! I will be going to law school when I graduate!" She insisted thinking his quietness meant he didn't believe her. In reality, Jared was contemplating how to get out of here without his mother noticing and how to convince Kim that he had at least gone to see his mother and that was all that mattered.

His mom had told him to meet her, Gregory, and Jessica at the little coffee shop in the center of Forks at 10:00 a.m. _sharp_ and to dress professionally.

_Professionally_?

What did that even _mean_?

Kim had said that meant button up shirt and pants without rips in them that weren't cut off at the knee. Honestly, Jared would rather babysit Embry. This _coffee date -_ as his mother had called it - was killing him. He had arrived _two minutes _late and his mother had made a huge point of saying that they thought he wouldn't show up. She had then introduced him to Gregory and Jessica and then Gregory had shook his hand and called him _son_.

Son. _Son._

Did Jared _look_ like his _son_?

And then Jessica had launched into her own spiel of things Jared didn't care about. His mom had stuck the two of them at one table with Jessica's iced salted caramel soy frappuccino light with whip cream, caramel, and real sea salt sprinkled on top...and Jared's black coffee while she and Gregory claimed a different table at the other end of the cafe.

"So...do you have a girlfriend?" Jessica asked, not looking like she actually cared about his answer.

"Yes...well...no. Kinda? It's complicated." He mumbled wondering what exactly him and Kim were. I mean, they were practically dating, right? Kim knew that, _right_? Jessica perked right up.

"Ooh, tell me more. I'm kinda a match-maker-genius. My boyfriend Mike and I- _Well_, he's not _really_ my boyfriend, not yet anyway. But he wants to be, I know he does because this one time we were in the hallway at school and it was in between our math and science classes and he turned to look at me and was just like-"

And then she went on to recount the whole story of how her and Mike met (preschool) and how they are perfect for each other (they both liked the color green?) and about every single interaction they've ever had (Jared considered drowning himself in his coffee). By the time she was finished she had forgotten she asked about Jared's semi-maybe girlfriend in the first place.

Jared knew one thing for sure: Kim had used the imprint powers she didn't know she had for evil.

Pure, pure evil.

* * *

><p>Jared rang Kim's doorbell a few hours later feeling more miserable then ever. He didn't think he would ever be able to sit through another two hour <em>coffee date<em> with Gregory or Jessica ever again. He didn't think he would make it.

"Hey!" Kim greeted happily, opening the door with a wide smile on her face until she saw his expression. "Uh oh, that bad?" She asked, wrapping her arms around him comfortingly. Jared groaned and dropped his head to her shoulder.

"Remind me again why you couldn't come with me to endure the torture?" He sighed.

"Because it was something you had to do alone...and because your mother probably would have killed me." Kim admitted, smiling. Jared lifted his head from her shoulder and pecked her lips.

"Oh you know I wouldn't have let her." He rolled his eyes before frowning. "She's just so different now and the sad thing is, I think this is the real her. I think she's just been pretending to be something different for me and my dad but now she's being herself."

"Will it make you feel better if I tell you I made cookies?" Kim asked hopefully.

"Yes, I feel better already." Jared laughed, pulling back and following her into the house.

"Hey, Jared!" Carmen called from the living room where she was attempting to do a balancing exercise on Wii yoga. Kim groaned and pulled Jared away from Carmen towards the kitchen.

"Hey, Carmen!" He called.

"Please ignore her." Kim begged. "This is why I don't go out in public with her, you are _so_ lucky I allow you in this house when she's here."

"Aw, come on, she's not _that_ bad." Jared teased. "She's wicked chill and at least she doesn't make you sit at the Fork's coffee shop for two hours."

"True, there's always that." Kim agreed placing a large plate of cookies in front of Jared at the counter. He grabbed one gratefully.

"Yum...peanut butter chocolate chip. You knew it was gonna be bad, huh?"

"I had a feeling."

"Have I mentioned you're my favorite person in the entire world yet today?" He asked starting in on his second cookie.

"Hmm...I don't think so." She smirked, grabbing a cookie as well. She had to admit, they _were_ good.

"Well, it's true." He promised, snaking an arm around her waist, pulling her close, and kissing her cheek.

"Hey, kids!" Carmen announced walking into the kitchen with her Smart Water in one hand and the Wii remote in the other. Kim quickly spun out of Jared's grasp, blushing bright red. "Ooh, cookies!" Carmen traded her Smart Water for one and munched on it happily.

"How was your yoga, Carmen?" Jared asked. Kim kicked him under the table, sending him a glare which he returned with a wink.

"Ugh, grueling. I feel like I've been practicing _all morning_." She sighed. "I think I deserve a treat. How about Chinese for lunch? What do you guys say?" She looked hopefully at her step-daughter.

"Sounds awesome." Jared agreed for them, ignoring when Kim kicked him again.

"Great!" She clapped once before heading down the hallway towards the stairs. "I'll be ready in fifteen minutes!"

"You know, I was really nice making you cookies and this is what you do?" Kim asked, shooting Jared a mock glare. "No more cookies for you."

"Aw, Kimmy!" Jared pouted as she pulled the plate away and put it on top of the fridge. "If I have to go have coffee with my mom and her new family then you should have lunch with yours...besides I'll be there."

"Ugh!" She complained. "She's just annoying, she keeps trying to shape me into her with her ten layers of makeup and high heels, it's just not me."

"Mothers are supposed to do that, Kim." Jared assured her. "She's not trying to be mean by doing things like that. Why do you think I'm wearing a dress shirt? It's not because _I _want to wear it."

She let out a huff but finally let a small smirk settle on her features.

"You know, she just turned the Wii on, like, five minutes ago." Kim informed him. "She wasn't on it _all morning_."

Jared laughed, "I figured."

* * *

><p>Mr. Chen's Chinese Buffet was only two towns over and the closest place to get Chinese food if you lived in La Push, Washington. Carmen wasn't the only one who thought getting Chinese food would be a good idea on that Sunday afternoon, apparently three freshmen form La Push High School also found it to be a great idea. They had dubbed Mr. Chen's their 'planning ground', mostly because Dakota was on this new diet where she only ate food with chopsticks. It was proven that if you only ate with chopsticks then you ended up eating slower and less, therefore losing weight. Dakota had gotten really good at it though and could even eat ice cream with chopsticks so she wasn't sure if the diet actually worked.<p>

The three girls had gathered there with their lo mein and spicy orange chicken to divide and conquer. To divide up the tasks needing to be done and to conquer the amazing spicy chicken and make it their own.

"Okay, so we can get her to come in November?" Spencer informed the group. "Does that sound good?"

"No, no, _no_!" Natalie whined. "I want her here as soon as possible. I want to start this _now_."

"Nat, we need time to plan. She needs time to get to _know_ you so that she can _be_ you." Spencer informed her, starting to get annoyed. Spencer had come up with this brilliant plan about how Natalie and her twin Nikita could switch places and Natalie had done nothing but complain about how she wanted things different. "Things like this just can't happen overnight. It has to be perfect or else it will fail."

Natalie sighed, stuffing another bite of chicken in her mouth.

"What if I don't like her…?" Dakota prompted. "Then can we, like, send her back?"

"Kota. She's my _sister_, not an unwanted sweater set, we can't just send her back." Natalie snapped.

"Sorry." Dakota apologized, holding her hands up to her friend in surrender. Natalie sighed again.

"Okay," Natalie continued, "So I get her here. Then what?" She looked to Spencer for an answer. Spencer was the smart one after all.

"Hypothetically, if you can convince her to switch places, then she goes about your daily life. We'd have to make her a book or something that has information about everything-"

"-Bo_ring_, can you make that?"

"-we'd need to make sure she stays close to Kota and me-" Spencer continued, ignoring her.

"-no, I don't want her knowing you guys know, she needs to-"

"-and we'd have to have your trip done in two weeks tops. We can't have her being you too long, she'll slip up eventually and then what will you do?"

"Hello, are you even listening to me?" Natalie asked, waving her chopsticks up and down in the air like a crossing guard directing traffic. "If I'm going to convince her to be me then I need to let her think this is only about us. I need to let her think this is special and that I'm the one doing _her_ a favor...not the other way around."

"I'm not so sure…" Spencer trailed off. "Shouldn't she have the two of us to talk to so she isn't, like, alone?"

"Well, I think it's cool if she doesn't know we know!" Dakota piped up, flipping her hair over one shoulder. "It'll be like a mystery and we'll know something she doesn't. She'll think she's fooling us but she won't be! How cool is that?" She looked expectantly at her two best friends. Spencer still looked skeptical but Natalie was smiling and nodding her head.

"And also, I'm thinking longer then two weeks. I'll be in LA, it'll be like a vacation. I'm thinking a month, might as well have fun. Right?" Natalie asked, though it clearly wasn't an answer you should disagree with her on. Dakota bobbed her head a few times and they both turned to look at Spencer expectantly.

"I mean if you think so…" Spencer hesitantly agreed.

"Good, then it's settled." Natalie announced, effectively closing the subject.

"I'm going to go get some more orange chicken." Spencer mumbled, picking up her plate and heading towards the buffet. _Might as well get some mini-vegetables as well,_ she decided. She turned the corner and banged right into someone else.

"I'm so sorry." The other girl quickly apologized even though Spencer was pretty sure it was her fault.

"No, it's fine, I-" She glanced up and realized who it was. "Oh, um, hi...uhh, Kim? Right?" Spencer knew who Kim was so she didn't know why she had pretended that she didn't. It was something Natalie always did in public when she saw someone she knew who she didn't like. She would pretend they meant so little to her that she didn't even know what their name was for sure. It had just slipped out because she knew that was what Natalie would do...and she instantly felt bad. Kim's polite smile faltered and she nodded her head.

"Yeah, Spencer, my name's Kim." She confirmed, taking the large spoon from Spencer and getting a scoop of mini-vegetables to add to her plate.

"So, what are you doing here?" Spencer asked, racking her brain for some way to make herself seem like less of a jerk.

"Oh, uhh…just grabbing lunch." Kim glanced over her shoulder towards her table and Spencer followed her gaze. Jared Thail sat in all his _he-man-hottie_ glory with a large plate of food and laughing about something a woman, who Spencer assumed was Kim's mother, had said.

"Cool." Spencer replied, swallowing a lump in her throat that told her she was probably a bad person most of the time. "You guys are cute together." Kim raised her eyebrows in surprise when the comment didn't seem fake or gossip prodding. "Well, I've got to go...I have more important things to do."

And that ruined the nicest moment Kim had ever witnessed involving Spencer.

Kim wandered back to the table just in time to hear Carmen launch into a story about the time when her hairdresser had tried to give her blonde highlights and what a disaster it had been.

Excellent.

* * *

><p>We sometimes think that we can't handle what life throws at us. We think certain things are too challenging, too time consuming, and just generally <em>too much<em>. Often times this is not the case. We often don't know our own strengths, limits, and talents. We sometimes underestimate the extent to which we can do.

If we thought back to all thing times we thought we wouldn't make it through something then we would feel silly because we are still alive today which means we have conquered what we thought was impossible.

We are better then we think we are.

We will amount to more then we believe.

* * *

><p>The next morning Jared knocked on Kim's front door before she could make her way to the truck. Since they started<em> not<em>-dating, or whatever it was they were doing, Kim had always come outside before Jared or Paul could get to her front door so that she could avoid any confrontations between her parents and _not_-boyfriend.

Carmen knew Jared, and while she loved him, Kim wasn't sure how her dad would react to Jared and all his _Jared-ness_ which is why she had made a point of watching for Jared and Paul's truck from the front window.

But, that morning, she had overslept and was still rushing around to get ready when Jared and Paul pulled up. Of course, Jared being Jared, walked right up the front steps and rang the doorbell.

"Jared!" Carmen squealed, opening the door to let her step-daughter's _not_-boyfriend inside. "Kimmy's just running a little late, she should be down any moment."

"Hi, Carmen." Jared greeted, giving Kim's step-mother a wide smile. He stepped into the house and followed her into the kitchen.

"I'd offer you breakfast, but I kinda had a little mishap with these blueberry pancakes." Carmen gestured towards an indistinguishable, charred pieces of something on the griddle. "Cook books make it look _so_ easy!"

Jared couldn't help but crack a smile, "No worries, Carmen, Paul and I stopped at The Diner and grabbed breakfast...I brought Kim hot chocolate." He held up the styrofoam cup he was holding as if to validate his statement.

"Aw, aren't you just the cutest!" Carmen cooed, attempting to make the apparent-pancakes look edible. "Isn't he just the cutest, Jeff?" Mr. Connweller walked into the kitchen from the office and stopped in his tracks.

It wasn't that Kim or Carmen had prevented Jeff from meeting Jared or that they didn't want him too, but they had just failed to mention that the friend Kim was suddenly spending all her time with was a boy...and Jared.

"Uhh..." Jeff stuttered, attempting to continue putting his papers in order and figure out why this large _man_ was in his kitchen.

"Have you met Kim's boyfriend, Honey?" Carmen asked, not skipping a beat. "And he brought our little Kim hot chocolate, how precious is he?" She looked expectantly at her husband.

"Um...super?" Jeff finally conceded, knowing it was best to just agree with his wife and wondering when his daughter suddenly had found a boyfriend. He was also contemplating why said boyfriend had to be someone who looked like a twenty-five year old giant.

"Jared Thail." Jared introduced with a smile, sticking out his palm to shake Kim's father's hand. "I go to school with Kim."

"Mr. Connweller." Jeff responded, shaking Kim's so-called-boyfriend's hand firmly. "I didn't know Kim had a _boyfriend_."

"Oh, well, I-"

"_Jared!_" Kim trilled a few octaves higher then her normal voice as she flew down the stairs and realized what was going on. _Crap, why does Taha Aki hate me?_

"Want some pancakes, Kim?" Carmen asked, cheerfully gesturing to the griddle.

"Oh, wow...thanks for the offer, I'm actually not hungry, Carmen." Kim replied, taking one look at the charred mess and attempting to pull Jared out of the kitchen. This was a _disaster_.

"Okay, well I packed you a lunch!" Carmen held out Kim's purple lunchbox like it was an offering.

"Thanks," She grabbed it. "Did you cut off the crusts?"

"Kim, no, you know that's where all the protein is!" Carmen sighed, preparing herself to go into another rant about why eating the crust was the most important thing Kim should be doing in her life.

"_Fine_." Kim responded before Carmen could start, continuing to pull on Jared's arm. "Well, Jared and I have to go. Bye."

"It was nice to meet you Mr. Connweller." Jared smiled, offering a wave. "Bye, Carmen."

"Ugh!" Kim groaned, giving Jared a shove once they were safely out of the house. "Why the crap would you come into my house and talk to my parents? They better not have said anything embarrassing!" She shoved him again to no avail. "There is a reason why I always meet you _outside_."

"Aw, come on, Kimmy." Jared laughed, wrapping an arm around her. "They were fine, Carmen is _hilarious_." Kim opened her mouth to protest but Jared continued. "I brought you hot chocolate."

Kim seemed to forget all her stress about Jared talking to her parents and accepted the cup happily. "Thank you!" She leaned up to kiss him but was interrupted by the loud blare of the horn coming from the truck.

"Oh my _god_!" Paul yelled out the window. "I could have walked to school in the time it took you guys to get out here! Get _the fuck _in the car!"

Kim rolled her eyes but broke away from Jared and went to the passenger side of the car, sliding all the way in.

"Good morning to you too, Paul." She greeted.

He grunted but offered her a small smile. Kim had won her way into his heart whether he wanted her to or not.

Yup, it was gonna be a good day.

* * *

><p>Of course Embry knew the legends.<p>

Everyone in La Push, even those not 100% Quileute knew. It was just basic stories that everyone had heard at least a few times in their lives. No one ever thought they were real though. Embry still hadn't gotten over the fact that he was _actually_ a wolf, it hadn't fully sunk in how it was possible, and he hadn't fully gotten over losing his best friends.

Technically he hadn't lost Jacob and Quil forever, but for the time being it was hell without them. Now his only options were Sam, Paul, or Jared. Sam was obsessed with Emily and Jared was obsessed with Kim so it really was only Paul he could hang out with. And, let's face it, Paul wasn't Jake or Quil. It wasn't the same.

Embry sat on his couch, staring out the window as the rain poured down. He couldn't go to school until he had better control over himself, but at least he didn't have to stay outside anymore.

His house phone rang again but Embry didn't bother to pick up. He knew who it would be and he knew he would have to lie and say he couldn't tell them what was going on.

There was only so much he could handle and he had reached his limit for the day.

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><p><strong>Reviews make me happy.(:<strong>


	8. Commitment

**Doing my best to find time to write for you guys!**

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><p>"Jared said you are the smartest person in the entire world...so I should probs work with you." Embry announced, pulling up a desk a little too close for Kim's comfort and plopping down in it.<p>

"Oh! I definitely wouldn't say that at-"

"And I said: 'No way, dude, she's never gonna work with me'. And you know what he said?"

Embry didn't wait for Kim to answer.

"He said that you're also like, the nicest person in the entire world so it didn't matter that I sucked at Spanish."

"He said that?" Kim smiled, unable to help herself. "How does he know I'm nice? I could actually be a really mean person and no one would know just because I'm quiet. I could be thinking about how much I hate all of you right now and you wouldn't even know."

"You're funny. Jared was right, I do like you." Embry smiled, tapping her on the nose. She flinched in surprise.

"I'm really not that smart though." Kim quickly promised. "I mean, don't you want to work with Jacob?" They both glanced over at Embry's usual Spanish partner who was glaring at both Kim and Embry. Kim dropped her eyes.

"Nah, why would I want to work with him when I can work with the incredibly mean Kim who hates everyone?" Embry tried to joke, but Kim could hear the strain in his voice.

"Did you guys have a fight?" Kim asked. "I get in fights with my step mom all the time. She always claims that I use her nail polish and then don't return it. Hello, do I look like I'm using her bubbilicious bubblegum pink nail polish?" Kim held up her color-free nails for him to see. "I usually just apologize to make her happy and then she finds it ten minutes later in her purse or whatever."

"Uh...we didn't have a fight about nail polish if that's what you're asking." Embry said, scratching the back of his neck and stealing another glance at Jake who was now talking to his partner, Tess. He looked completely relaxed except for the tight death grip on his pencil.

He was next.

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><p>Since the dawn of time, humans have been told that they can't always get what they want. If we always received what we wanted, we wouldn't have a very good grip on reality. We wouldn't understand the value of what we have or the importance of what we've earned. We wouldn't feel accomplished or grateful. We wouldn't understand the difference between a want and a need.<p>

It is easy to say that you _need_ something, it is easy to confuse the wants of the world with needs, but that doesn't make it okay or right. As humans, many of us have accepted that we won't get everything we want in life, we have accepted that we can't have everything. But there are some things out there...some things not human that haven't accepted this.

Many vampires believe they can have whatever they want. They believe that if they are powerful enough and if they live long enough (which many do) that they should receive whatever they desire.

Many even believe they should have the right to want a life. Many believe that asking for someone's life is a reasonable request. That was what the young vampire and his accomplice believed at least.

"Diego?" Bree Tanner asked in an angelic voice that echoed through the thick forest. The male vampire glanced away from his prey to his newly changed mate. "Do you think this is...wrong?" The girl Diego held captive sobbed and lashed out, attempting to break free and failing.

"Remember last week when you hunted? When _we_ hunted?" Diego purred, encouraging Bree to step closer to him and their struggling dinner. "Remember how good it felt? Remember how sweet and delicious his blood tasted?"

Bree nodded her head, stepping even closer. Her throat ached just thinking about her last meal. It felt wrong to kill someone...to kill a human who had a family and friends who cared. But, then again, didn't _she_ have a family and friends who cared?

She couldn't remember.

Diego had saved her from a life of humanity. He had saved her and turned her into someone like him, into a vampire so that they could be together. It was rather sweet if you thought about it. Though, of course, Diego hadn't mentioned her originally intended to suck Bree dry.

What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

"I'll let you have the first bite, baby." He sighed, smirking at Bree's hungry expression.

"Okay." Bree found herself agreeing, lowering her mouth towards the trembling girl's neck.

"Please don't." The girl begged.

Bree ignored the human, plunging her teeth through her flesh and sucking the blood she craved.

* * *

><p>"KIMBERLY!" Natalie screeched at the top of her lungs. "I AM TOO PRETTY TO DIE THIS YOUNG!"<p>

The other two passengers in the car cringed and Kim slammed on the breaks again.

"I'm sorry!" She responded, sounding on the verge of hysteria and clenching the wheel even tighter between her already pale hands.

"If we could please use our indoor voices inside the vehicle that would be just peachy." Violet Burns, the middle age driving instructor, suggested with a large fake smile on her face. She did not get paid enough for this job, that was for sure. Violet had been a drivers education teacher for almost five years and, she was sad to say, the young drivers got worse every time. She hadn't seen a driver as bad as Kimberly Connweller in a long time but she had a feeling that her driving would have been better if the girl in the backseat would just shut her mouth.

"She is going to kill us!" Natalie Khan snapped, reaching for the 'Jesus handle' hanging above the door. "They just let anyone into this driving school these days, huh?"

Kim was trying to keep herself from crying. She should have already had her _license_ but she hadn't been able to improve her crappy driving in the last year since she had received her permit. Everyone else in her grade, and even some in the grade below her, had already gotten their licenses and Kim couldn't even drive in a straight line. Every time she got behind the wheel of a car, she just panicked. It definitely didn't help that Natalie Khan was also in the car. For driving lessons they paired you up with one other person so that for half the time you drove and the other half you observed. Kim had two previous lessons that had gone just as horrible as this one but with teenagers from different towns. She hadn't been as lucky this time.

"Okay," Violet's voice raised an octave is slight panic as she reached to grab the wheel, "let's keep inside the lines!"

"I'm sorry." Kim mumbled, swallowing her tears. This was horrible.

"Oh my god," Natalie groaned from the backseat, "I think I'm carsick. Can't you drop me off early?"

"You know what, I have a friend who lives right here." Kim spoke up, making a sharp turn onto a side street and ending up on the left side of the road. "Natalie can drive herself home and I'll stay with them. I'll practice some more before booking my next appointment."

"Okay." Violet found herself agreeing, even though it was a direct violation of the driving hour rules. She thought it would just be best for everyone if Kim cut her driving lesson a little short.

"Thank god!" Natalie groaned from the back seat as Kim slammed on the breaks to stop the car in front of Sam and Emily's house. She knew that barging into Sam and Emily's might be wrong, but she knew the outcome was probably better then spending another half hour in the car with Natalie.

"I'm sorry." Kim apologized again before unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the car. Natalie met her halfway, glancing around the front yard of the house they had stopped at.

"Sam and Emily are your friends?" She asked, not seeming very impressed by her choice of acquaintances. Kim didn't answer her, instead heading up the front walkway and leaving Natalie to bother someone else. "Figures." Kim heard her mutter before the car door slammed shut and Natalie executed a perfect U-turn, speeding away.

Kim paused in front of the door debating whether showing up at their house was a mistake or not. _Oh well,_ she though, _too late now_.

Emily answered the door on the first knock, having heard the squealing of tires.

"Kim!" She greeted, happily surprised to see Jared's imprint. "I just knew you'd be back to see me! Come in!"

Truth be told, Emily had been dying for someone to come and see her. While the boys were always around, sometimes Emily longed to spend time with someone who always wore a shirt and who was female. She had been hoping that Jared would bring his imprint back to the house and had been dropping, in her opinion, not so subtle hints that she wanted to see Kim again. Of course this went right over Jared's head, he had no idea that Emily wanted to see his imprint.

"Hey Emily...sorry to barge in. I was, um, in the area and I had a little incident with my driving lesson and...uh, never mind. You don't want to hear about this." Kim blushed, continuing to follow Emily into the little kitchen.

"No, no!" Emily paused, reaching out to grasp one of Kim's hands in both of hers. "I haven't talked to another female in over four days except for the cashier at the grocery store...so please...keep talking." Emily gave her hand an encouraging squeeze before dropping it and plopping down on one of the counter stools. Kim followed and rested her head on the counter.

"I'm literally never going to get my license!" She complained. "I've have my permit for ages but whenever I get behind the wheel of the car I just panic. I mean, cars are like death traps, right? They are death traps on wheels that can kill anything, right?"

Emily nodded her head enthusiastically, thinking she could probably listen to Kim talk about nonsense like cars and the woes of being a teenager for hours. As long as it wasn't about vampires, shape shifters, or food, Emily would be content.

"But I _have_ to get my license. I can't not get my license!" Kim groaned, burying her face in her hands. "What am I gonna do? Have Jared drive me around for the rest of my life? I mean, he's not even my boyfriend so it's not even like he has an excuse to drive me places. My dad offered to buy me a-"

"Wait!" Emily interrupted, holding up her left palm. "Jared's _not_ your boyfriend?"

Kim blushed bright red, hoping Emily wouldn't repeat that to Jared. She wasn't sure where she stood with him but the _b-word_ would certainly complicate things if that wasn't what Jared wanted.

"Oh, well...no." Kim admitted. "We're...friends? I guess?" It sounded lame even to Kim.

"No," Emily insisted. "You and Jared are _definitely_ dating."

"Uh...we're really not. Why? Did he say we were?" Kim asked hopefully, her face still flaming. "I mean, he never _asked_ me to be his girlfriend."

"What!" Emily shrieked. "I swear, I am going to _kill_ him!"

"Omigosh, no, Emily." Kim pleaded. "Don't say anything, if that's not what he wants then he'll just be scared off!"

"Oh he better be scared," Emily stood up from the counter, "of me."

Kim quickly jumped up as well.

"What are you doing?" She asked nervously.

"Kim, have you ever had a boyfriend?" Emily questioned bluntly, heading towards the backdoor.

"Well...not really. No."

"I'm going to teach you a little lesson about boys then." Emily paused in front of the back screen door, turning to face the younger imprint. "They're idiots." She flung open the door and stepped out into the cold backyard, Kim on her heels.

"Emily, honestly it's not a big deal." Kim pleaded.

"JARED!" Emily screeched at the top of her lungs.

It only took two seconds for the sound to reach Jared and Sam in the woods and for Sam to have a minor heart attack. It took another three seconds for Sam to reach the woods edge, phase back, pull on shorts, and dart towards the house. It took Jared four seconds since he realized a second later that, even though it wasn't his imprint, it was still his name.

"What's wrong? Are you okay? Did something happen? Are you hurt?" Sam rambled, gripping Emily's shoulders and trying to figure out what was wrong. Emily ignored him completely and leveled a glare at Jared.

"Hey Kim!" Jared said happily, as calm as Sam was panicked, and wondering the likelihood that the Alpha would let him leave a little early to spend time with his imprint.

"Hi." Kim blushed, praying to Taha Aki that Emily would just drop the subject or that the ground would open and swallow her up.

"Jared," Emily repeated, "is Kim your girlfriend?"

"Oh..." Jared rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I mean, I guess."

"I am?" Kim couldn't help but squeak out in surprise.

Sam dropped his arms from Emily's shoulders, realizing nothing was wrong with his imprint, she just wanted to play match maker. "Dammit, Em, you can't just-"

"No, Jared! No she's not!" Emily groaned. "You boys are _so_ stupid, you can't just assume that someone is your girlfriend. You have to ask them!"

"Oh," Jared blushed, "I didn't realize that...Kim, wanna be my girlfriend?" Kim started to bob her head only to be interrupted my Emily.

"No, no she does not!"

"What?" Jared asked, turning his attention back to Emily.

"What!" Kim repeated.

"Yeah, that's right, Kim is very upset with your actions and you will have to make it up to her, _then_ you can officially ask her to be your girlfriend." Emily informed him, crossing her arms.

"Emily!" Jared whined. "I'm sorry, I didn't know! And I was talking to _Kim_! Kim, will you _please_ be my girlfriend?" He shot her a puppy dog look the melted her insides to goo.

"Yup!" She chirped happily, shooting him a big smile.

"Kim!" Emily complained, pouting. "You need to make him suffer a little bit longer!"

"Great!" Jared cheered, pulling Kim to his side and pecking her lips. "You're my favorite! I'll see you in," Jared glanced up at the sky, trying to judge what time it was, "an hour or so? We'll grab dinner?" Kim nodded her head pretty sure that, in that moment, she would have agreed to anything Jared had said. "Bye!" He raced off back towards the forest, attempting to catch Paul who had been busy watching the whole thing go down and was doing a poor job of trying to hide his wolfy chuckles.

"Emily." Sam sighed, shaking his head.

"Thanks for getting here so quickly, I think that's a new record!" Emily complimented, leaning up to kiss his cheek. Sam couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his lips.

"Yeah, okay." He mumbled before slowly trudging away back towards the woods and his pack of wolves.

Emily turned towards Kim and couldn't help the laughter that poured out of her mouth at the site of Jared's still red faced imprint who looked equally embarrassed and excited. Kim gave her a shove, attempting to glare but failing miserably.

"Did you hear that, Emily?" Kim asked, rolling her eyes and finally giving into her giggles, "I'm his _favorite_."

This only made them laugh harder.

"And that, Kim, is why boys are so stupid. They just do whatever they think they should and, often times, that's not the right thing at all." Emily looped her arm through Kim's. "Now we both have boyfriends...but only one of us has a drivers license."

"Emily!" Kim shoved her again.

* * *

><p>What's more important: who you are or what you do?<p>

Some people say that the lives we live are defined by the sum of our choices and actions. But there are others who would disagree. It isn't really our choices and actions that distinguish who we are, it's our commitment to them.

Commitment is like faith.

How far are you willing to go?

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><p><strong>As always thank you for the reviews! Hope you are enjoying the story! XO<strong>


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